NAIROBI (Reuters) - Militiamen allied with Ethiopia’s federal government said they were bearing down on the capital of the northern rebel stronghold of Tigray on Friday, as fears grew that fighting could spill into a wider war after Ethiopia and Eritrea cut diplomatic ties.
The pro-government Tigray Peace Forces militia said on Facebook it had captured the town of Milazat, about 20 km (12 miles) southeast of Mekelle, the main city in Tigray region.
Video posted on social media and purportedly from Milazat showed TPF fighters in a blue truck chanting: “Mekelle! Mekelle!” Reuters could not immediately verify the video.
The Ethiopian military and allied fighters have made quick advances into Tigray since combat erupted last week with a rebel alliance led by the region’s ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, in the worst escalation of violence since a 2020-2022 civil war.
Spokespeople for Ethiopia’s military, its government and the TPLF did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the reported advance.
Analysts fear the current conflict could spread beyond Ethiopia’s borders in an increasingly fragile region where other powers are competing for influence. Tigray has Ethiopia’s longtime foe Eritrea to its north, and Sudan — caught up in a more than three-year-old civil war — to its west.
Ethiopia’s government has accused Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of supporting the opposition alliance — an allegation they have all denied.
On Thursday, Ethiopia said it was closing its embassy in Eritrea “in response to Eritrea’s direct and indirect acts of hostility and belligerence” and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave Ethiopia within 48 hours.
Eritrea responded by severing all diplomatic ties with Ethiopia. The two countries fought a border war from 1998-2000 and only restored diplomatic relations in 2018.
Inside Mekelle, banks and shops were closed on Friday in anticipation of possible fighting, two residents, who asked not to be named, told Reuters.