Leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front say they have withdrawn from Mekelle after renewed fighting, clearing the way for Ethiopian federal troops and allied forces to enter the regional capital.

The Associated Press reported that TPLF forces seized Mekelle’s airport and the city on 23 September. The group said its withdrawal was intended to spare the city from further fighting. The account describes a major change in control, but it does not by itself establish whether federal troops have entered or how civilians are being protected during the transition.

The African Union has urged restraint. Its call comes against the background of the 2022 peace agreement that ended the previous phase of the Tigray war. That agreement reduced the scale of fighting but left unresolved questions about security, political authority and the implementation of its terms.

The danger is that a tactical withdrawal becomes the start of a wider confrontation. Mekelle is both the political centre of Tigray and a symbol of the region’s contested relationship with the federal government. Any military entry into the city risks producing displacement, reprisals or a collapse in the channels that kept the 2022 settlement alive.

Information from the conflict zone remains incomplete. Statements by the TPLF, the federal government and outside mediators need to be separated from independently confirmed developments. The immediate priorities are the safety of residents, humanitarian access and clarity over who controls critical infrastructure.

The withdrawal may prevent one battle from expanding, but it does not resolve the political dispute. The next test will be whether the parties accept restraint and return to the peace framework, or whether Mekelle becomes the opening scene of another cycle of fighting.