Ethiopia's Tigray region urges federal intervention after town seized

Tigray delegate Getachew Reda attends the AU-led negotiations to resolve the conflict in northern Ethiopia, in Pretoria, South Africa, November 2, 2022. REUTERS

ADDIS ABABA - Officials administering Ethiopia's Tigray region asked for federal help on Wednesday as a faction of the main regional party seized control of a town, stoking fears of a return to conflict in the war-scarred region.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) runs Tigray's interim administration, established in 2023 as part of a peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war between Tigrayan forces and the federal government.

The war ended with a truce signed in November 2022 after tens of thousands of people were killed and millions forced from their homes in northern Ethiopia. Since then the TPLF has split into two factions, with each laying claim to control of the party.

On Wednesday, Getachew Reda, who leads one faction and heads Tigray's interim administration, said his rival, Debretsion Gebremichael, had forcibly taken control of the administration of the northern town of Adigrat a day earlier.

Debretsion's faction confirmed the takeover of Adigrat on its official Facebook page. Also on Tuesday, Getachew removed three senior army commanders from their positions, accusing them of trying to drag the region into internal conflict.

"The federal government must... understand that those acting in the name of the security forces are agents of a backward and criminal clique who do not represent the people or the Interim Administration of Tigray, and provide the necessary support," Getachew said in a statement.

"It must not remain silent as the Pretoria Agreement is violated and the people of Tigray enter into a second round of destruction," he added referring to the deal signed in South Africa in 2022.

Ethiopian government spokesperson Legesse Tulu, the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and Debretsion did not immediately respond to requests for comment.