Mekelle offensive

Mekelle offensive
	Part of the Tigray War
	; Map of the Mekelle offensive
Date	17–28 November 2020
Location	Tigray Region, Ethiopia13°29′49″N 39°28′37″E / 13.49694°N 39.47694°E
Result	Ethiopian victory Ethiopia captures multiple sites around the city of Mekelle; Ethiopia captures Mekelle on 28 November after two days of battle, TPLF withdraws;
Belligerents
Tigray	Ethiopia; Eritrea
Commanders and leaders
Debretsion Gebremichael; (Chief Administrator of Tigray Region and TPLF Chairman); Getachew Reda; (TPLF Spokesperson)	Abiy Ahmed; (Prime Minister of Ethiopia); Birhanu Jula ; (ENDF Chief of Staff); Kenea Yadeta; (Minister of Defence); Isaias Afewerki; (President of Eritrea); Filipos Woldeyohannes; (EDF Chief of Staff)
Units involved
Tigray Defence Forces	ENDF Ethiopian Ground Forces; ETAF; EDF Eritrean Army; ERAF;
Strength
Unknown	Unknown
Casualties and losses
Unknown	Unknown
	27 civilians killed, 100+ wounded (Mekelle anonymous doctors)

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 Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF) controlled 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. 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.

Mekelle itself came under air attack, and the city fell to the Ethiopian army on 28 November 2020, marking the end of the offensive. Despite their initial defeat, TDF fighters began organizing an insurgency soon after.