Ethiopia army: ‘We can re-enter Tigray within weeks if needed’

Federal forces left the region to deal with threats ‘from outsiders’, says government spokesman.

Ethiopia says its military could re-enter the Tigray capital of Mekelle within weeks if needed, reiterating that a unilateral ceasefire declared by Addis Ababa earlier this week was intended to provide “humanitarian relief” in the restive region. The comments on Wednesday by Redwan Hussein, spokesman for the Ethiopian government’s task force for Tigray, were the first by any official in Ethiopia’s federal government since Mekelle was seized by Tigrayan forces this week. The retreat followed days of territorial gains by the Tigrayan forces battling Ethiopia’s government and its allies, including troops from neighbouring Eritrea and fighters from the Ethiopian region of Amhara, which borders Tigray to the south.