Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s Tigray Region, descended into upheaval today as armed factions aligned with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) turned their weapons on each other, forcing the normally bustling city into an eerie shutdown.
Residents say the clashes began early in the morning after simmering tensions between rival TPLF-aligned groups erupted into open confrontation. At the center of the dispute are unpaid wages for fighters, deteriorating internal discipline, and growing resentment toward elements seen as loyal to Eritrea’s ruling party. Many rank-and-file fighters and local commanders reportedly view the atrocities committed by Eritrean forces during the Tigray War as unforgivable, fueling anger against leaders perceived as maintaining quiet ties with Eritrea.
By midday, Mekelle resembled a ghost town. Shops shuttered, streets emptied, and movement across the city ground to a halt as fighters exchanged fire in multiple neighborhoods.
In one of the most symbolic developments, Demtsi Woyane, the TPLF’s historic radio and television broadcaster, was stormed by armed men. Staff members were detained, and transmissions halted—an unprecedented rupture within an institution long seen as the movement’s ideological backbone. The incident has raised alarm that the confrontation may represent more than a localized dispute, with analysts warning of a “slow-moving coup” unfolding within Tigray’s fractured political and military establishment.
Compounding the instability, civil servants in Mekelle and surrounding districts launched a rare strike, protesting the diversion of their salaries to pay fighters. Their grievances follow the federal government’s decision to pause budgetary transfers to Tigray, citing large-scale embezzlement of federal funds—an accusation the interim regional administration has not publicly refuted.
Taken together, the clashes, wage crises, political rifts and funding disputes point to a region in rapid disarray. Once tightly controlled under a unified TPLF command structure, Tigray now appears to be fragmenting into competing armed blocs with divergent loyalties and grievances.
The risk, observers warn, is that today’s violence may not remain contained. If unresolved, the crisis could evolve into open fratricidal warfare, further destabilizing a region still reeling from the devastation of the recent civil war.
