Mekelle offensive

For the 19th century battle, see Battle of Mekelle (1896).
Mekelle offensive
Part of the Tigray War

Map of the Mekelle offensive
Date17–28 November 2020
Location
Tigray Region, Ethiopia
13°29′49″N 39°28′37″E / 13.49694°N 39.47694°E / 13.49694; 39.47694
Result

Ethiopian victory

  • Ethiopia captures multiple sites around the city of Mekelle[1]
  • Ethiopia captures Mekelle on 28 November after two days of battle, TPLF withdraws[2][3]
Belligerents
Tigray  Ethiopia
 Eritrea
Commanders and leaders
Debretsion Gebremichael
(Chief Administrator of Tigray Region and TPLF Chairman)
Getachew Reda
(TPLF Spokesperson)[4]		 Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed
(Prime Minister of Ethiopia)
Ethiopia Birhanu Jula
(ENDF Chief of Staff)
Ethiopia Kenea Yadeta
(Minister of Defence)
Eritrea Isaias Afewerki
(President of Eritrea)
Eritrea Filipos Woldeyohannes
(EDF Chief of Staff)
Units involved
Tigray Defence Forces ENDF EDF
Strength
Unknown Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown
27 civilians killed, 100+ wounded (Mekelle anonymous doctors)[6]

The Mekelle offensive was a military campaign fought at the start of the Tigray War between the national armed forces of Ethiopia and the Tigray Region. The Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) launched an offensive aimed at seizing the regional capital of Mekelle starting on 17 November 2020.

Fierce fighting occurred in the Wajirat district of Tigray between the ENDF and newly formed Tigray Defense Forces (TDF) as the military pushed towards the regional capital.[7] The Ethiopian Air Force was heavily employed during the offensive, the use of drone strikes in particular, and after several weeks the TDF was routed into the mountains.[8] Mekelle fell to the Ethiopian army on 28 November 2020, marking the end of the offensive.[9]

  1. ^ "Ethiopia Tigray crisis: Abiy issues 'ultimatum' as civilians flee fighting". BBC News. 18 November 2020. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. ^ "Ethiopia PM says Tigray operation over after army seizes Mekelle". Al-Jazeera. 29 November 2020. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference capture was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Getachew Reda talks about the state of war situation in Tigray
  5. ^ "Wieder Luftangriffe der Armee in Tigray" (in German). Deutsche Welle. 9 November 2020. Archived from the original on 19 November 2020. Retrieved 9 November 2020.
  6. ^ Marks, Simon; Walsh, Declan (3 December 2020). "From Shelled Ethiopian City, Doctors Tally Deaths and Plead for Help". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  7. ^ Netsanet 2024, pp. 29–30.
  8. ^ Gardner 2024, p. 273.
  9. ^ Gardner 2024, p. 266.