Mekelle፡Telaviv, Nairobi, Pretoria, London, (Tigray Herald).
Tigray Delegation Meets U.S. Officials in Addis Amid Strained Peace Process
By Tessema Nadew
A senior delegation from Tigray’s Interim Regional Council, led by Deputy Speaker Dejen Mezgebe, met with officials from the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa this week, amid growing frustration over the stalled implementation of the Pretoria peace agreement and a deepening humanitarian crisis affecting millions of internally displaced Tigrayans.
According to the Tigray Public Media (TPM), the two sides held closed-door discussions on the lingering obstacles to peace in northern Ethiopia, including the delayed return of internally displaced persons (IDPs), the fragile security situation in contested territories, and the lack of accountability for war crimes.
“The delegation raised critical concerns around the unmet provisions of the Pretoria Agreement, particularly the failure to restore displaced Tigrayans to their ancestral lands in Western and Southern Tigray,” a source close to the delegation told The Guardian. “They also emphasized the need for international guarantees to prevent renewed violence.”
The Forgotten Displaced
Despite the signing of the peace accord in November 2022, over 1.8 million Tigrayans remain displaced, many of them languishing in overcrowded shelters in the outskirts of Mekelle, Shire, and other urban centers. Families forced out by militia violence in Western and Southern Tigray now face chronic hunger, trauma, and lack of shelter.
“The IDPs are the clearest evidence that the Pretoria Agreement is not working,” says Mulu Gebretsadik, a humanitarian worker coordinating relief efforts in Adigrat. “We are dealing with women who were raped during the war, children suffering from malnutrition, and elders who have no homes to return to. Peace exists on paper, but not in their lives.”
With food aid to the region suspended for months due to mismanagement and corruption scandals, aid groups say the situation has become “catastrophic.” Waterborne diseases are spreading in camps with no sanitation, while makeshift shelters are collapsing under seasonal rains.
“We sleep in plastic tents with no floor,” says Letekidan, a 43-year-old mother of four who fled Humera in 2021. “We want to go back, but Amhara forces are still there. No one protects us.”
Disputed Territories, Delayed Justice
One of the core unresolved issues is the future of Western and Southern Tigray, areas now effectively annexed by Amhara regional forces following the war. Despite the Pretoria deal stipulating the return of constitutionally recognized territories to their pre-war status and governance, federal authorities have made no move to enforce it.
Instead, reports continue to emerge of intimidation, land grabs, and systematic prevention of return for Tigrayan IDPs—practices that humanitarian observers warn amount to ethnic cleansing by other means.
“Western Tigray has become a no-go zone,” says an analyst with a regional conflict monitoring group. “Displaced people are told not to return or risk being attacked. This violates the very essence of the peace agreement.”
U.S. Diplomacy and International Pressure
The U.S., which played a pivotal role in brokering the Pretoria Agreement, has maintained that the return of IDPs and accountability for wartime atrocities are non-negotiable. While the U.S. Embassy did not issue a statement following the meeting, it is understood that Washington is increasingly frustrated with Ethiopia’s federal government and the lack of transparency in the agreement’s implementation.
Dejen Mezgebe’s engagement with U.S. officials is widely seen as an effort to galvanize international action. Regional officials say that without external pressure, the IDP issue risks becoming a “permanent stain on Ethiopia’s conscience.”
A Long Road Ahead
As Tigray attempts to rebuild, the political and humanitarian situation remains unstable. Schools and hospitals in IDP-hosting towns are overstretched. Many young people, traumatized by war and displacement, are turning to risky migration routes in search of safety and dignity.
“Peace without justice is an illusion,” says Merhawit Aregawi, a Mekelle-based lawyer. “If the displaced are not returned and perpetrators go unpunished, this cycle will repeat.”
The Tigray delegation’s appeal to the U.S. underscores the urgency of breaking that cycle. For now, hundreds of thousands remain in limbo caught between the ruins of war and the broken promises of peace.
