Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald)
Renewed Tensions Loom as TPLF’s Push for Southern Tigray Control Draws Federal Rebuke
A new political storm is brewing in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, as Getachew Reda, Advisor to the Prime Minister on East African Affairs and former senior TPLF official, warns that the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) recent bid to seize control of Southern Tigray’s administration could trigger another confrontation with the federal government.
In an interview with TBS TV, Getachew claimed that the controversial move is not solely a TPLF initiative but is being orchestrated under foreign influence — specifically from Eritrea. “The plan is not theirs,” Getachew stated, referring to the TPLF. “Rather, it is the assignment they took from the Eritrean government. Eritrea wants the Ethiopian Federal Government to be bogged down in Tigray so that it poses no threat to them.”
The warning follows a May 9 announcement by TPLF Chairman Dr. Debretsion Gebremichael, who told party-affiliated media of the TPLF’s intention to assert full administrative control over Southern Tigray and replace its current leadership. The move is seen by some analysts as a reassertion of power in the region amid fragile post-conflict reconstruction and tensions between the federal government and the TPLF.
The federal government has yet to issue an official response, but political observers say the development could derail ongoing normalization efforts between Addis Ababa and Mekelle following the November 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement.
Tensions over the governance of Southern Tigray have long been a flashpoint, especially in areas with contested identities and allegiances. Critics warn that unilateral administrative changes without federal coordination could reignite instability in the war-weary region.
This latest rift underscores lingering mistrust and the complexities of post-war governance in Ethiopia’s north, with regional autonomy, federal authority, and foreign influence now intersecting in increasingly combustible ways.
