Ethiopian police ask residents in Tigray regional capital to help restore order after rebel pullout

MEKELLE, Ethiopia (AP) — Ethiopia's federal police fanned out Friday across the regional capital of Tigray after anti-government forces pulled out, calling on residents over loudspeakers to help establish a new administration following the rebels' withdrawal.Over the weekend, government-allied fighters had entered Mekelle, the capital of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, after the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, announced its withdrawal.The TPLF had joined six other opposition groups last month in an alliance seeking to oust Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Fighting escalated late last month, undermining the 2022 peace deal. The rebels seized the Mekelle airport and the city, one of Ethiopia’s largest.On Saturday, the rebels said their forces had pulled out — similar to what they did in the previous two-year war, which ended with a peace agreement in 2022, apparently to spare the city from destruction.Still, local government offices remained shut Friday in Mekelle