Addis Ababa, October 29, 2026 (FMC) — The illegal TPLF group left a trail of destruction and looting across Mekelle’s key administrative and public service institutions as it withdrew from the city, damaging public property, disrupting government operations and imposing an additional burden on the people of Tigray region who depend on those institutions.
The damage extended to administrative buildings belonging to Mekelle City’s Mayor’s Office, the Tigray Regional President’s Office, the regional council and other government institutions.
The destruction and looting deprived public bodies of property and facilities needed to carry out their responsibilities, undermining the delivery of essential services to residents.
The consequences reach directly into people’s daily lives. Damage to administrative infrastructure has disrupted city operations and public services, while the loss of institutional assets has weakened the region’s capacity to meet community needs.
Rather than preserving the institutions on which the public depends, the illegal TPLF group left behind damaged facilities and a costly recovery task.
The scale of the destruction exposes the contradiction between claims to represent the people of Tigray and actions that damage their public institutions.
Government buildings, administrative assets and service facilities are not the property of a political group; they are public resources maintained for the benefit of citizens. Their destruction deprives communities of services and forces scarce resources to be diverted from development and public priorities toward repair and reconstruction.
The damage has also weakened institutional capacity across the region. Restoring the affected facilities requires additional funding, time and sustained effort, delaying the return of administrative operations and the reliable provision of public services.
The costs are borne not by political organizations alone, but by the communities that rely on functioning institutions.
The government is undertaking reconstruction work to restore damaged institutions and sustain the resumption of public services.
That effort must address both the physical destruction and the disruption left behind, rebuilding the capacity needed for administration and service delivery.
The destruction and looting in Mekelle leave a clear and damaging legacy: public property lost, institutions weakened, services disrupted and the people of Tigray left to bear the consequences.
The damage inflicted on these institutions underscores the cost of a political course that sacrifices public assets and community needs to the interests of a group.