Opposition fighters in northern Ethiopia's Tigray withdraw from regional capital

KAMPALA, Uganda -- Leaders of a rebellious political group in northern Ethiopia said they had withdrawn from the regional capital, clearing the way for the entry of federal troops and their allies following renewed fighting. The Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, which last month seized the Mekelle airport and the city, one of Ethiopia’s largest, said in a statement Saturday that it had pulled out. It had done so in the previous two-year war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2022, apparently to spare the city from destruction. Fighters loyal to the TPLF seized the airport on Sept. 23, prompting Ethiopian Airlines to suspend flights to Mekelle and the Tigrayan cities of Axum and Shire. The African Union urged restraint, warning that renewed tensions threatened the 2022 agreement. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has tried and failed to subdue Tigray’s rebellious leaders in recent months, with TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael openly challenging him. Debretsion said Thursday that the fighting was a “continuation of the previous war” and that his fighters would keep attacking and defending Tigray from its enemies.After federal troops take control of Mekelle, Abiy is very lik...