Mekelle, Ethiopia – Tigray’s main political force said it was reclaiming control of the northern Ethiopian region’s government, challenging the post-war order established by the Pretoria peace deal and raising fresh fears of renewed conflict.
In a statement published on Sunday, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) accused the federal government in Addis Ababa of preparing “to launch a bloody war once again”.
“It (the federal government) is in a hurry to launch a bloody war once again,” the statement said.
The party said Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government had violated the 2022 African Union-brokered accord by extending the tenure of interim regional chief Lieutenant General Tadesse Worede for another year without consulting the TPLF.
It also alleged that federal authorities were withholding funds needed to pay civil servants and provoking fresh fighting inside Tigray.
‘Clear repudiation’
The declaration drew an immediate warning from Getachew Reda, a former TPLF spokesman who headed Tigray’s interim administration before falling out with the party and later joining Abiy’s government as an adviser.
Writing on X, Getachew said the TPLF’s move amounted to “a clear repudiation” of the post-war structure created by the Pretoria agreement.
“The international community must … act to stave off the threat” of another devastating conflict, he said.
There was no immediate public response from Abiy’s office. The TPLF’s claims that the federal government had breached the peace agreement could not be independently verified.
The move comes in a region still scarred by one of the century’s deadliest wars.
The 2020-2022 conflict between TPLF-led forces and Ethiopia’s national army killed hundreds of thousands of people through direct violence, famine and the collapse of health services, according to researchers.
Post-war strains
The Pretoria agreement, signed in November 2022, was meant to halt the war and establish an interim administration in Tigray until fresh regional elections could be held.
While the deal brought some initial progress, key issues remain unresolved, including the demobilisation of combatants, the return of displaced people and disputes over territory in western Tigray.
A deep internal split within the TPLF has also shaped much of the current crisis.
In March 2025, infighting between rival camps led by Getachew and veteran party chief Debretsion Gebremichael raised fears of renewed conflict as armed loyalists seized key towns. Abiy later called on Tigrayans to nominate a new regional leader.
Days later, Abiy appointed Tadesse, a former senior commander, to lead Tigray through what officials described as a “critical transition”. On April 8 this year, state media said Tadesse’s mandate had been extended for another year.
The peace accord has come under increasing strain in 2026.
A drone strike in Tigray on January 31 killed one person and wounded another, in what local officials described as a sign of renewed confrontation between national and regional forces.
The African Union Commission appealed for “maximum restraint”, urging all sides to resolve disputes through dialogue.
On February 10, UN rights chief Volker Türk warned that “the situation remains highly volatile”, adding that political dialogue was “urgently needed – not renewed resort to armed violence”.
Eritrea factor
Neighbouring Eritrea remains another source of tension. Ethiopia’s federal government has accused the TPLF of plotting with Asmara, allegations both the TPLF and Eritrea deny.
Eritrean forces fought alongside Ethiopian troops during the 2020-2022 war, but relations between Addis Ababa and Asmara have since deteriorated.
In February, Abiy publicly accused Eritrean troops for the first time of carrying out “mass killings” in Axum and engaging in looting during the early phase of the Tigray war.
The accusation underscored how wider regional tensions have become entangled with Tigray’s unresolved crisis.
In its latest statement, the TPLF said it would abolish the interim administration, restore Tigray’s executive and legislature, and strengthen ties with neighbouring Ethiopian regions and nearby countries.
Whether the party can turn that declaration into practical control remains unclear. But the move, which came less than two weeks after Abiy extended Tadesse’s tenure, underlined how fragile the post-war arrangement in Tigray has become.