ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Concerns are escalating within Ethiopia’s Tigray region as an interim government has urgently requested intervention from the federal authorities after a splinter group of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) took over two significant towns. This development has resulted in several injuries and sparked fears of a renewed civil conflict.
The faction seized Adigrat on Tuesday, marking it as the second-largest town in Tigray, and placed a new leader to replace one loyal to the interim government. The following night, they captured Adi-Gudem, located near Mekele, the regional capital. In Adi-Gudem, attempts to take control of a government building led to gunfire, injuring multiple individuals.
The TPLF’s earlier conflict against federal troops spanned two brutal years and concluded in November 2022 with a peace deal that established an interim administration led by TPLF. This conflict, which began in November 2020, caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands, displaced millions, and brought many to the brink of famine in Ethiopia.
Despite the formal end of the war, divisions within the TPLF have appeared. Recently, the faction’s leader, Debretsion Gebremichael, removed the interim government head, Getachew Reda, and four cabinet members from the party.
In response, Reda, the chief negotiator of the peace deal, took action by suspending four top military leaders whom he suspected were loyal to Gebremichael’s faction.
“The region might be teetering on the verge of another crisis,” declared a recent statement from the Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau, affiliated with the interim government.
Reda has labeled the TPLF’s recent activities as a “potential coup attempt.” He urged the international community, a key supporter of the Pretoria Peace Accord, to vigilantly observe the worsening situation in Tigray.
“The worry over the unraveling of the Pretoria Agreement and its implications needs serious attention,” he stated in a televised interview.
In contrast, TPLF deputy chairman Amanuel Assefa has claimed the unfolding issues are unrelated to the Pretoria deal, attributing them instead to law enforcement matters. “The TPLF and the Tigray forces are rightful custodians of this agreement; thus, there is no objective to act contrarily,” he commented.
