ADDIS ABABA – Stability in northern Ethiopia hung in the balance Tuesday after the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) re-established its pre-war legislative council and elected Debretsion Gebremichael as regional president, defying the federal government’s interim administrative structure.
The move is seen as a direct challenge to the Pretoria peace deal that ended the 2020–2022 civil war.
The TPLF accused the federal government of withholding funds and failing to protect Tigrayan borders from continued incursions by Eritrean and Amhara regional forces. In response, federal officials in Addis Ababa warned that unilateral political shifts could lead to a “catastrophic return to conflict.”
The European Union and the African Union issued joint statements urging both Addis Ababa and Mekelle to return to the negotiating table.
“The gains made since 2022 are too fragile to be gambled with,” said an AU peace monitor. Humanitarian organizations added that over nine million children remain out of school due to the ongoing fallout from conflict and natural disasters.
