Ethiopian forces enter strategic Tigray town of Adwa, witnesses say

Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Tigray’s capital, Mekelle, on Sunday.

Passengers arrive at Mekelle airport after Ethiopian Airlines restored flights to the capital of Ethiopia's Tigray region, October 11, 2026 [Reuters]

Ethiopian government forces have entered the town of Adwa without a fight, days after capturing Adigrat from rebel fighters as flights resumed to Mekelle in the country’s northern Tigray region.

Residents of the northwestern town of Adwa, roughly 40km (24 miles) from Eritrea’s border, said federal forces and an allied militia entered the town on Sunday, a day after the withdrawal of fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

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TPLF Vice President Amanuel Assefa said he “did not wish to comment”.

“All the shops in the town are closed. Last night, many government institutions, including Adwa Hospital, were looted,” Aferwerki, a local resident who gave only one name, told AFP.

Conflict monitor ACLED said that Ethiopian drone strikes targeted a hotel in Adwa on October 4, wounding between “five and nine people, including security personnel”, who were taken to hospital. Some ACLED sources indicated that TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael and other senior officials were at the hotel, but stressed the information had not been verified.

Another resident who requested anonymity confirmed the TPLF forces withdrew from Adwa but said that although government forces were deployed in the town, they had not reached the centre.

“The roads are deserted. People are very afraid of theft,” he said.

Last week, Ethiopian forces captured Tigray’s regional capital Mekelle, days after the TPLF confirmed that it had withdrawn from the city and moved its regional administration “temporarily” to another location.

Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights from the capital, Addis Abba, to Mekelle on Sunday for the first time since September 23, when a seven-group armed alliance , including the TPLF, started fighting Ethiopian forces and captured the airport.

Soldiers participate in a procession welcoming former Tigray leader Getachew Reda in Mekelle, capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray region, October 11, 2026 [Filmon Equar Hailu/AP Photo]

“I would like to assure you on this occasion that we will bring visible change, a change beyond mere hope,” Getachew Reda, a former Tigray leader who now advises Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed told supporters greeting Reda and Ethiopia’s intelligence chief Redwan Hussein at Mekelle airport.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing the rebel alliance.

Khartoum and Cairo have denied involvement. Eritrea, which fought alongside Ethiopia’s federal army in the 2020-2022 war, severed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia over the accusations last week.

埃塞俄比亚航空公司周日恢复飞往提格雷首府默克莱的航班。

2026 年 10 月 11 日，埃塞俄比亚航空公司恢复飞往埃塞俄比亚提格雷地区首府的航班后，乘客抵达默克莱机场 [路透社]

在从叛军手中夺取阿迪格拉特几天后，埃塞俄比亚政府军不战而胜地进入了阿杜瓦镇，与此同时，飞往该国北部提格雷州默克莱的航班也恢复了。

距离厄立特里亚边境约 40 公里（24 英里）的西北部城镇阿杜瓦的居民表示，联邦军队和一支盟军民兵于周日进入该镇，此前一天，提格雷人民解放阵线（提人阵）的武装人员撤离。

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列表 2/3：吉布提附近海域，一艘移民船倾覆，至少 139 人死亡，84 人失踪

名单3/3：厄立特里亚敦促联合国介入与埃塞俄比亚的对峙

TPLF 副主席 Amanuel Assefa 表示，他“不想发表评论”。

“镇上的所有商店都关门了。昨晚，包括阿杜瓦医院在内的许多政府机构遭到洗劫，”一位名叫阿费沃基的当地居民告诉法新社，他只透露了自己的名字。

冲突监测机构ACLED称，10月4日，埃塞俄比亚无人机袭击了阿杜瓦的一家酒店，造成“5至9人受伤，其中包括安保人员”，伤者已被送往医院。ACLED的一些消息来源指出，提格雷人民解放阵线（TPLF）主席德布雷齐翁·格布雷米凯尔和其他高级官员当时在酒店，但强调该消息尚未得到证实。

另一位要求匿名的居民证实，提格雷人民解放阵线部队已从阿杜瓦撤出，但他表示，虽然政府军已部署在该镇，但尚未抵达镇中心。

“道路空无一人。人们非常害怕被偷，”他说。

上周，埃塞俄比亚军队占领了提格雷州首府默克莱，此前几天，提格雷人民解放阵线（TPLF）证实，它已从该市撤出，并将其地区行政机构“暂时”转移到另一个地点。

埃塞俄比亚航空公司于周日恢复了从首都亚的斯亚贝巴飞往默克莱的航班，这是自 9 月 23 日以来首次恢复该航线。9 月 23 日，包括提格雷人民解放阵线 (TPLF) 在内的七个武装团体组成的联盟开始与埃塞俄比亚军队作战，并占领了该机场。

2026 年 10 月 11 日，士兵们参加在埃塞俄比亚提格雷地区首府梅克莱欢迎前提格雷领导人 Getachew Reda 的游行 [Filmon Equar Hailu/美联社照片]

“我谨在此向你们保证，我们将带来看得见的改变，一种超越希望的改变，”前提格雷领导人、现任埃塞俄比亚总理阿比·艾哈迈德顾问格塔丘·雷达在默克莱机场迎接他和埃塞俄比亚情报局长雷德万·侯赛因时对支持者们说道。

埃塞俄比亚指责厄立特里亚、苏丹和埃及支持叛军联盟。

喀土穆和开罗均否认参与其中。厄立特里亚曾在2020年至2022年的战争中与埃塞俄比亚联邦军队并肩作战，上周因这些指控而与埃塞俄比亚断绝了外交关系。