The leader of the Tigray People's Liberation Front in Ethiopia, Debretsion Gebremichael, announced that the regional forces are standing firm against the Ethiopian government forces on the southern front, according to Reuters.
He added that his forces are clashing with those forces around the town of Adigrat in the north of the region.
Gebremichael is now leading the fight against Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government for control of the northern Tigray region, described as the "womb" of the nation.
He leads the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the party which controls the northern region, and which has fallen out so dramatically with Mr Abiy.
Radwan Hussain, a spokesman for the Ethiopian government task force, said that the regional forces destroyed roads, blew up bridges and booby-trapped roads with explosives in the south of the province, but federal forces are making progress.
Radwan added that some fighters and militants from Tigrayans fled after the soldiers managed to take control of Adigrat on Saturday.