An Ethiopian Airlines propeller plane flies low in a blue sky over a building and a hillside billboard.

Getachew Reda Returns to Mekelle on First Flight in Weeks, Says Tigray Will Be Run by a Federal Command Post for Six Months

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An Ethiopian Airlines propeller plane flies low in a blue sky over a building and a hillside billboard.

An Ethiopian Airlines Dash 8 Q400 in a photo AfriMEOSINT posted on Oct. 11, 2026, saying the aircraft, registered ET-AXZ, flew the first Addis Ababa to Mekelle service since fighting broke out in northern Ethiopia. Zegabi could not verify where or when the photo was taken. (Photo: AfriMEOSINT / X)

Getachew Reda flew into Mekelle on Sunday morning aboard the first Ethiopian Airlines flight to the Tigray capital since the carrier halted service when fighting broke out in northern Ethiopia in late September. It was his first time back in the city in 19 months. He left in March 2025, when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) took over the offices of the interim administration he led, and went to Addis Ababa.

On Saturday, the day before he landed, the private broadcaster TBS aired a Tigrigna-language interview with Getachew. In it he said Tigray would be governed by a federal command post for the next six months, after which the region would hold elections run by the National Election Board of Ethiopia, BBC Amharic and BBC Tigrinya reported. Getachew, a former president of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration, is now an advisor to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on East African affairs with the rank of minister. He told TBS that the command post’s main job would be “to make Tigray governed by the rule of law, to enforce security, and to carry out work that rebuilds the region,” according to BBC Amharic.

The state-affiliated Ethiopian News Agency said Ethiopian Airlines resumed Mekelle flights on Sunday and that service to Axum and Shire was expected to follow soon. Africanews reported on Friday that the airline had put tickets on sale for the route. The open-source account AfriMEOSINT identified the aircraft as a Dash 8 Q400 registered ET-AXZ. Kulu Media reported that Getachew traveled with Dr. Abraham Belay, Brigadier General Gebreegziabher Beyene (known as Wedi Antiru), Major General Zewdu Kiros, Ambassador Redwan Hussien and Colonel Wedi Abate. BBC Amharic said senior officials of the federal government and leaders of the Tigray Peace Force were on the first flight. Kulu Media noted that the purpose of the visit had not been publicly set out and that the arrival “does not, by itself, confirm any decision” on a new administration. On Oct. 4, Abraham told ENA that a new interim administration and regional elections would come within months.

Ordinary passengers on the flight told ENA how long they had waited. “I feel very happy,” said Ashenafi Solomon. “Now that flights have resumed amid relative peace, I was able to travel on the first flight.” He added, “We have suffered enough. Families are losing their sons in this fratricidal conflict.”

A singing crowd met Getachew at Alula Aba Nega airport, UMD Media reported, and BBC Tigrinya said residents gave him a lively welcome that began at the airport. BBC Tigrinya reported that he was heard telling people, “In a short time we will bring change that is seen in deeds, not in rumors.” Later in the day, several X users posted that the delegation had moved on to Adigrat.

In the TBS interview, according to the BBC, Getachew said security in the region would be kept jointly by the Ethiopian National Defense Force and the Tigray Peace Force, which fights alongside the federal army, and that humanitarian aid would reach the areas those forces control. He said people displaced from Western Tigray, an area claimed by both Tigray and the Amhara region, would return to their homes. TPLF members could take part in rebuilding Tigray, he said, with the exception of the leaders he blames for the new war and anyone facing criminal charges. He said the TPLF leadership was now near the Mereb River on the border with Eritrea, and would not come back to lead the region. BBC Tigrinya reported that he declared the war with TPLF forces over. UMD Media, in its own account of the interview, quoted him as saying that “Adwa and Axum will fall tomorrow.”

The TPLF says otherwise. BBC Tigrinya reported that the party’s deputy chairman, Amanuel Assefa, and its spokesman, Michael Asgedom, said on social media, from places that were not disclosed, that they were ready to launch what they called a miraculous counteroffensive, and that in their view the war was far from over and had not even begun. In a Tigrigna post on Facebook on Saturday, shared on X by Aman (@Wedi_ATM), Amanuel wrote: “ኣብ ታሪኽ ትግራይ ናብ ትግራይ ዝኣተዉ ኩሎም ወረርቲ ኣብ ትግራይ እዮም ተቐቢሮም። ጣልያን ኣይወፅአ፣ ደርግ ኣይወፅአ፤ ብልፅግና ድማ ዳግም ክቕበር እዩ” (“In the history of Tigray, all the invaders who entered Tigray were buried in Tigray. Italy did not leave, the Derg did not leave, and the Prosperity Party will be buried again”).

The fighting has not stopped. AfriMEOSINT wrote on Sunday that “visual evidence confirms” federal and Tigray Peace Force troops took Adigrat and Nebelet on Saturday, and that “reports today indicate they have also taken Adi Dairo in north-western part of Tigray.” The same account said federal drones struck a secondary school in Ahsea district in northern Tigray “three times in succession, leaving it almost completely destroyed,” and that “multiple civilian casualties are also reported.” Yirga Alemu (@RTigrai2023), who describes himself as a “sociologist| researcher| writer,” wrote on Saturday evening that “unverified reports indicate that repeated drone strikes near the secondary school in Ahsea woreda at around 10:00 P.M. Casualties have not yet been confirmed.” Solomon Tadesse (@RassoloSolomon) wrote in Tigrigna on Sunday that “ስርዓት ብልፅግና ሎሚ ቀትሪ ኣብ ወረዳ እገላ ከተማ ገርሁስርናይ ዝርከብ 1ይ ብርኪ ቤት ትምህርቲ ዘነፃፀረ ናይ ድሮን መጥቃዕቲ ፈፂሙ” (“The Prosperity Party system carried out a drone attack at midday today targeting a primary school in the town of Gerhu Sernay in Egela woreda”). Zegabi could not verify the strikes or the casualty reports, and we had not seen a response from the authorities in Addis Ababa by Sunday morning.

Getachew’s return also comes as the whereabouts of the man who replaced him remain unknown. Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede, who took over the interim administration from Getachew and was later pushed out by the TPLF, was held at a hotel by Tigray security forces and then taken away from it on the night of Oct. 2, his family told BBC Amharic. BBC Tigrinya reported on Sunday that he and two others are said to be held in an unknown place, and that relatives fear they may have been taken to Eritrea. BBC Tigrinya also reported that many prisoners escaped when Tigray forces left Mekelle last week, that some people seized weapons from police stations, and that residents say many public and private institutions in the city were looted.

On X, an account posting as Tigray Peace Forces (@TigrayPeaceF) wrote at 5:25 AM ET: “Welcome home. Getachew Reda returns to Mekelle to a large welcome, his first since breaking with the TPLF clique. He chose dialogue over war.” Alexander Berhane (@BurushAlex) wrote in Tigrigna at 3:44 AM ET: “እንቋዕ ብሰላም ኣተኻ ጌች! ምስ ብጾትካ እንቋዕ ብሰላም መቐለ ኣተኹም” (“Welcome back in peace, Gech! Welcome to Mekelle in peace with your comrades”), adding that Getachew had made it back to the city he left “in grief and anger.” Thomas Jejaw Molla (@MollaJejaw) wrote in Amharic, “ጌቾ ጌቾ እያለች ነው መቐለ” (“Mekelle is chanting ‘Gecho, Gecho’”), and later posted that Getachew, Abraham and Redwan were “strolling on the streets of Adigrat” (“በአዲግራት ጎዳናዎች ላይ እየተገማሸሩ ነው”). Others were not moved. Tseguu (@tseguu), whose profile reads “an Engineer, a lone thinker,” wrote that the officials “have arrived in Mekelle for a media stunt!!!” Somsonite (@Somsonite11) replied in Amharic, “አይ ጌታቸው የትግራይ ህዝብ ዝም የሚል ይመስልሃል… wait and see” (“Oh Getachew, do you think the people of Tigray will stay silent… wait and see”). Jawar Mohammed (@Jawar_Mohammed), a member of the Oromo Federalist Congress, according to his X bio, wrote that crowds had come out to welcome federal and Tigray Peace Force troops “town after town,” including “today in Adigrat, where we saw the largest crowd so far,” and that “Getachew Reda’s return to Mekelle should be understood within this changing political mood.” He added that during Getachew’s time leading the interim administration “he enjoyed considerable goodwill, especially among younger Tigrayans,” but “failed to use that momentum.” Zegabi could not verify the videos and claims in these posts.

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