Ethiopian police urge Mekelle residents to restore order following rebel pullout News
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Ethiopian police urge Mekelle residents to restore order following rebel pullout

Ethiopian federal police deployed across the Tigray regional capital of Mekelle on Friday, using loudspeakers to urge residents to help law enforcement restore civil order and establish a transitional administration after rebel forces withdrew.

Federal officers patrolled main transit corridors alongside members of the government-allied Tigray Peace Force, a breakaway faction of former regional combatants that announced an overnight curfew earlier in the week. Although federal authorities promised to restore banking, electricity, telecommunications, and water services, municipal administrative offices remained shut and regional broadcast networks stayed dark.

The security operation follows weeks of renewed clashes that severely undermined the 2022 peace agreement, which had concluded a two-year civil war between federal forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Hostilities flared again after the TPLF joined an opposition alliance alongside six other political groups seeking to unseat the federal government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Regional forces briefly captured the Mekelle airport and parts of the municipality before confirming a tactical pullback to prevent sustained urban warfare and civilian casualties.

The Ethiopian federal government and the TPLF signed a landmark cessation of hostilities agreement in November 2022, seeking to resolve two years of devastating armed conflict. That accord mandated the phased disarmament of regional combatants, restored federal constitutional authority in Mekelle, and guaranteed unhindered humanitarian relief throughout Tigray.

The resurgence of instability compounds an ongoing humanitarian crisis across northern Ethiopia, where millions of civilians remain reliant on emergency food and medical assistance. International human rights monitors and UN relief bodies have repeatedly warned that recurrent military mobilizations, stalled transitional justice mechanisms, and interrupted aid corridors threaten to undo fragile post-war recovery and deepen legal uncertainty for displaced populations.

Federal officials announced plans to register individuals involved in the hostilities to facilitate disarmament and civilian reintegration. Meanwhile, international observers and regional bodies continue to call for immediate humanitarian access and diplomatic dialogue to prevent a broader collapse of northern Ethiopia’s post-war transition.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Bakke affirmative action case argued

On October 12, 1977, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the "reverse discrimination" case of Allan Bakke, a white student denied admission to University of California Davis Medical School. The court ruled the following year that that the Davis affirmative action plan was unconstitutional; Bakke was admitted to UC Davis Medical School and eventually graduated from there with his MD. Listen to the oral arguments and the reading of opinions by Chief Justice Burger, Justice Powell and others on Oyez.

Bakke affirmative action case argued

On October 12, 1977, the US Supreme Court heard arguments in the "reverse discrimination" case of Allan Bakke, a white student denied admission to University of California Davis Medical School.

The Court ruled the following year that that the Davis affirmative action plan was unconstitutional; Bakke was admitted to UC Davis Medical School and eventually graduated from there with his MD. Listen to the oral arguments and the reading of opinions by Chief Justice Burger, Justice Powell and others on Oyez, the Supreme Court multimedia site at Northwestern University.