Ethiopian forces enter strategic Tigray town of Adwa, witnesses say

Published On 12 Oct 202612 Oct 2026.

Key points

• Eritrea, which fought alongside Ethiopia's federal army in the 2020-2022 war, severed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia over the accusations last week.
• Last night, plenty of administration institutions, including Adwa Hospital, were looted, Aferwerki, a local resident who offered only one name, informed AFP.
• Some ACLED sources indicated that TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael and other senior authorities were at the hotel, but stressed the information had not been verified.
• TPLF Vice President Amanuel Assefa remarked he "did not wish to comment".
• Ethiopia has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing the rebel alliance.

Ethiopian administration 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, remarked 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).

"All the shops in the town are closed. Last night, plenty of administration institutions, including Adwa Hospital, were looted, " Aferwerki, a local resident who offered only one name, informed AFP.

According to Conflict monitor ACLED, 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 authorities 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 remarked that although administration forces were deployed in the town, they had not reached the centre.

"The roads are deserted. Individuals are highly afraid of theft, " he noted.

Last week, Ethiopian forces captured Tigray's regional capital Mekelle, days after the TPLF confirmed that it had withdrawn from the city and moved its regional administration "temporarily" to another location.

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

"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 informed supporters greeting Reda and Ethiopia's intelligence chief Redwan Hussein at Mekelle airport.

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.

Taken together, the developments around ethiopian forces enter strategic Tigray town of Adwa, witnesses say point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.