Ethiopia installs interim government in Tigray, pledges elections within six months
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed says a six-month administration will run Tigray after federal forces pushed back a TPLF uprising, with free elections to follow.
At a glance
- Ethiopia announced on Friday a six-month interim government for Tigray after federal forces retook the region.
- Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed pledged that free elections would be held in Tigray after the interim administration.
- The TPLF has not responded; its uprising was defeated, with fighters surrendering in Mekelle in early October.
Ethiopia announced on Friday that an interim government will take control of Tigray, after its armed forces retook the northern region. The six-month administration was announced in a statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who pledged that free elections would then be held in the state.
The government said the interim body would create "a stable political situation" in Tigray so that free elections could be held. Five officials have been appointed to run the state, including the mayor of the capital, Mekelle. They will carry out "directives and instructions" delivered directly from the federal government.
The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has not yet responded to the announcement.
How the fighting unfolded
The move follows the military's defeat of an uprising launched last month by the TPLF. The party had announced in April that it was retaking control of the region, effectively ending a peace deal with the federal government.
In September the TPLF launched an offensive in alliance with several other armed groups aimed at toppling the Abiy government. After some early gains in the Afar region, its fighters were defeated and lost Tigray's major cities, surrendering in Mekelle in early October. Eritrean troops who had entered Tigray withdrew after heavy drone strikes by the Ethiopian armed forces.
Ethiopia has accused the breakaway state of Eritrea of supporting the TPLF, accusations Eritrea has denied.
A long-standing rift
The TPLF governed Ethiopia for nearly 30 years until 2018, when Abiy's party came to power. Tigray then boycotted national elections and rejected the central government, creating a severe rift.
The region remains scarred by the 2020-2022 war between federal forces, backed at the 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.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Why did Ethiopia install an interim government in Tigray?
- Ethiopia said the six-month administration would create a stable political situation in Tigray so that free elections could be held, after federal forces retook the region from the TPLF.
- Who will run Tigray's interim administration?
- Five officials have been appointed, including the mayor of the capital, Mekelle. The government said they will carry out directives and instructions delivered directly from the federal government.
- What happened in the 2020-2022 Tigray war?
- The war between federal forces, backed at the time by Eritrea, and the TPLF killed almost 600,000 people. A peace deal ended the fighting, but key promises, including the return of displaced people and TPLF disarmament, were not kept.
