Fears of Renewed Conflict in Ethiopia as TPLF Restores Tigray Administration

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) says it is retaking control of Tigray’s government, accusing Ethiopia’s federal authorities of violating the Pretoria Agreement that ended the 2020–2022 war in Ethiopia. The group claims the government withheld funds and interfered in regional leadership, and it plans to restore former political structures. The move has raised fears of renewed conflict, while the federal government has not yet responded.

Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has declared that it is resuming control of Tigray’s regional government, a move that sharply escalates political tensions in northern Ethiopia and raises fears of renewed instability in a region still recovering from years of devastating conflict.
In a statement posted on social media, the TPLF accused the Ethiopian federal government of repeatedly violating the terms of the Pretoria Agreement, the peace deal signed in 2022 that formally ended the two-year war in Tigray. According to the group, the federal authorities have failed to fully implement key provisions of the agreement, including proper financial support for the region and fair political coordination with the interim administration.
The TPLF alleged that the federal government has withheld funds meant for paying civil servants in Tigray, created political tension by extending the tenure of the interim regional leadership without consulting the party, and engaged in actions that it claims have heightened the risk of renewed armed confrontation. The group warned that these developments have undermined trust in the peace process and could push the region back toward conflict.
The announcement immediately drew concern from political observers and former officials linked to the peace process. Getachew Reda, who previously served as TPLF spokesman and also worked as an adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, described the statement as a clear rejection of the post-war governance arrangement established under the Pretoria Agreement. He cautioned that such a move could unravel the fragile peace framework that has been in place since the end of the war.
Getachew also called on the international community, including regional and global partners, to urgently intervene and help prevent what he described as the possibility of a catastrophic return to large-scale conflict. He stressed that the situation could quickly deteriorate if political disagreements are not managed through dialogue.
Officials from the Ethiopian federal government have not yet issued a detailed public response to the latest TPLF announcement, and attempts to reach TPLF representatives for further clarification were not immediately successful at the time of reporting.
The war in Tigray between 2020 and 2022 is widely regarded as one of the deadliest conflicts in recent African history. It involved fighting between TPLF-aligned forces and Ethiopia’s national army, with involvement from allied regional forces and neighboring states. The conflict resulted in widespread destruction, severe humanitarian crises, famine conditions, and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people due to violence, hunger, and the collapse of health services.
The roots of the conflict trace back to political tensions that escalated after Abiy Ahmed became prime minister in 2018, ending decades of political dominance by the TPLF within Ethiopia’s ruling coalition. Relations between the federal government and the TPLF deteriorated sharply, eventually leading to armed confrontation.
The Pretoria Agreement, brokered by the African Union in 2022, brought an official end to the war. The agreement provided for a ceasefire, disarmament processes, restoration of basic services, and the establishment of an interim regional administration in Tigray to govern temporarily until elections could be organized. While the agreement initially reduced large-scale fighting, its implementation has remained incomplete and contested.
In recent months, reports of renewed tensions and localized clashes between TPLF-aligned forces and federal or allied groups have increased, raising concerns that the peace arrangement is becoming increasingly fragile. Analysts have warned that unresolved political disagreements, combined with security and governance issues, could further destabilize the region.
In its latest declaration, the TPLF said it intends to restore the region’s former executive and legislative structures, effectively replacing the current interim administration. It also stated that it plans to strengthen relationships with neighbouring regions within Ethiopia and with nearby countries, signaling an attempt to reposition its political and diplomatic engagement.
The Ethiopian federal government has previously accused the TPLF of undermining the peace agreement and attempting to build external alliances, including alleged links with Eritrea. These allegations have been strongly denied by both the TPLF and Eritrean authorities. Eritrea, which fought alongside Ethiopian federal forces during the war, has itself had a complicated and shifting relationship with Ethiopia in recent years.
With both sides trading accusations and trust between former warring parties weakening again, concerns are growing that the fragile post-war order in Tigray could collapse, potentially drawing the region back into a broader and more destructive conflict if urgent political dialogue is not restored.