Ethiopia's Abiy Ahmed appoints interim Tigray government

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appoints interim Tigray government

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Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced an interim government in the northern Tigray region, according to DW News. The move comes after an escalation in fighting between federal forces and a rebel alliance. Abiy's office said there would be elections held in Tigray within 6 months. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) leadership has not yet responded to the announcement. DW News reports that the TPLF has denounced Tigrayans who collaborate with the federal government as "traitors" in a Facebook post. The statement said these individuals would face "accountability and public judgment."

The installation of the six-month administration was announced in a statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday, according to Al Jazeera English. He pledged that free elections would then be held in the state. The move comes after the Ethiopian military pushed back an uprising launched last month by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). The government promised that the interim government would create “a stable political situation” in Tigray so that free elections could be held. It has appointed five officials to run the state, including the mayor of the capital, Mekelle.

The TPLF has yet to respond to the announcement, according to Al Jazeera English. The rebel group launched an ambitious offensive in September in alliance with several other armed groups aimed at toppling the Abiy government. The Ethiopian government has accused the breakaway state of Eritrea of supporting the TPLF, accusations that Eritrea has denied. After some early gains in the Afar region, its fighters were defeated and lost Tigray’s major cities. They surrendered in Mekelle in early October. Eritrean troops who had entered Tigray withdrew after heavy drone strikes from the Ethiopian armed forces.

The Tigray region remains scarred by the 2020-2022 war between federal forces, backed at that time by Eritrea, and the TPLF, which resulted in the killing of almost 600,000 people. A peace deal ended the fighting, but key promises were not kept, including the return of displaced people and the disarmament of the TPLF. Since the recent escalation, Ethiopia and Eritrea have accused each other of inciting war, raising fears of a wider conflict. On Wednesday, the United States urged both sides to “de-escalate” during a phone call between Abiy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.