Addis Ababa (AFP) - Ethiopian federal forces were in full control of the Tigray rebels’ regional capital, a local journalist said on Sunday, while Ethiopia’s regional rivals gathered in Egypt to discuss the risk of a wider war.

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and federal forces began fighting again on September 23, sparking fears of a return to the devastating civil war of 2020-2022.

The presidents of Egypt, Somalia, Sudan and Eritrea – all of whom have difficult relations with Ethiopia – met in the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on Sunday.

They called for regional disputes to be resolved through “peaceful means”, while stressing respect for international law and “non-interference in the internal affairs of states” in the Horn of Africa, according to a statement from the Egyptian presidency.

Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of directly backing the Tigray rebels, with the added support of Sudan and Egypt, which all three countries deny.

In a counter-offensive, Ethiopian forces have pushed deep into rebel-held territory, entering the regional capital, Mekelle, on Saturday without a fight, as TPLF leaders and troops abandoned the city.

On Sunday, federal troops were patrolling Mekelle and manning key institutions, a local journalist told AFP, as communications were restored for the first time in more than a week.

“We have taken control of Mekelle and we are marching forward,” a commander with a pro-government militia told AFP.

- Shops closed -

Businesses and shops remained closed. Owners had moved stock to safer locations ahead of time, fearing looting and vandalism.

“There are no police,” one resident told AFP, speaking like others on condition of anonymity because of the uncertainty of the situation.

“Last night, we had to organise ourselves and take care of security.”

“The fact that the war is beginning to lower in intensity brings some immediate relief,” said Tewodros, another resident who did not want to give his full name.

“But as seems to be spreading across the region, I’m scared it will drag on,” he added.

There are growing fears the fighting could spill over the border into Eritrea.

- Egypt mini-summit -

The mini-summit in Alamein brought together Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki, Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Before the talks, Sisi called for dialogue as concerns grew that Ethiopia’s escalating violence could spill across borders.

Cross-border matters “require cooperation, not competition, and dialogue, not confrontation, including the management and use of natural resources and transboundary rivers in accordance with international law”, he said.

A joint statement later called for adherence to international law and voiced opposition to “unilateral measures” that could harm downstream countries, an apparent reference to longstanding tensions over Ethiopia’s Nile dam.

Egypt and Ethiopia have been locked in a years-long dispute over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, which Cairo fears could reduce its share of Nile waters.

Relations between the two countries deteriorated further this month after they expelled members of each other’s diplomatic missions.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty told state-linked media on Sunday that Cairo has “absolutely nothing to do” with events in Ethiopia, describing the unrest as a “domestic crisis” rooted in ethnic and political divisions.

- ‘Wherever we choose’ -

Eritrea, which shares a long border with the Tigray region, is most directly involved in the conflict.

It accuses landlocked Ethiopia of planning to invade and seize access to its coastline. Analysts say it has backed the rebels in Ethiopia to try to keep the conflict away from its border.

The TPLF has long been the dominant force in Tigray, ousting a government-appointed administration this year.

The rebels’ leader, Debretsion Gebremichael, has implied that the group would continue guerrilla-style attacks, as it did when Mekelle fell to government forces in 2020 during the last war.

Their insurgent campaign ultimately led to the TPLF retaking the city the following year.

“We operate under a strategy to strike the enemy wherever we choose,” said Debretsion.

The TPLF ruled all of Ethiopia from 1991 until 2018, when it was marginalised with the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who hails from the Oromia region.

The tensions led to a civil war from 2020 to 2022 that killed more than 600,000 people, according to the African Union, making it one of the deadliest conflicts in the world in recent times.

The Pretoria peace agreement of 2022, brokered by African institutions and Washington, was never fully implemented but still helped keep a degree of peace until last year.