Pro-government forces take strategic town as Ethiopia’s Tigray war widens

Pro-government forces have taken control of Alamata, a strategic transport and supply hub roughly 120 kilometres south of Tigray's capital Mekelle, according to reporting published Monday by Reuters, AFP and Al Jazeera. Reuters verified video posted by the allied Tigrai Peace Force showing soldiers carrying Ethiopian flags through the town. Two diplomatic sources and a source linked to the opposing side also told the news agency that Tigrayan forces were withdrawing.

Alamata has changed hands during earlier phases of Ethiopia's conflict and sits close to Tigray's southern boundary with Amhara. Control of the town gives federal forces and allied militias a stronger logistical position after a Tigrayan offensive last week. The capture does not establish that government forces will advance to Mekelle, and communications restrictions still make battlefield losses and civilian harm difficult to assess independently.

The latest fighting has effectively broken the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement that ended the previous two-year war. AP reported that patient numbers at hospitals in Korem and Alamata rose from about 180 to more than 420 within 48 hours, underscoring the civilian and military burden without providing a verified breakdown.

Ethiopia's army chief has separately accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the Tigrayan side. Sudan and Eritrea have denied involvement, and no public evidence has established those claims. That unresolved regional dimension matters because a renewed Tigray war could intersect with Sudan's civil war, Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions and disputes over Red Sea access.