Hostile forces occupy the mayor’s office in major Ethiopian towns for fear of new conflict

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Hostile forces occupy the mayor’s office in major Ethiopian towns for fear of new conflict

A dissident faction of the main political party in the northern Ethiopian Tigray region has taken control of key offices, while radio stations in the regional capital Mekelle are increasingly concerned about new conflicts.

This is a deep power struggle in the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which raises concerns about the return of the civil war.

A Mekelle resident told the BBC that people are worried about worsening security.

On Tuesday, the same faction controlled Adigrat, Tigra, the second largest city.

Tigray interim government president Getachew Reda accused a competitor led by Debretsion Gebremichael of attempting to force him to remove him from his post.

Getachew became Tigray’s leader after a peace deal in 2022, which ended two years of conflict in the region, which is estimated to have caused a conflict of 500,000 people.

DeBretsion Gebremichael was formerly the leader of the region, but over the past year, has developed a relationship with the man who replaced him.

Members of the Dubres team accompanied armed soldiers to control Mekelle FM radio station and the city’s mayor’s office on Thursday.

Gunshots were heard Wednesday night in Adi-Gudem, a small town near Merkel, when dissident factions tried to occupy the government building.

The troops reportedly arrested the mayor of the town and took control of the office.

Getachew suspended three generals of the Tigray Defense Forces, accusing competitors of trying to destabilize the region.

On Wednesday, Getachew asked the Ethiopian government to “provide the necessary assistance” without specifying that kind of support.

He is currently in “consulting with federal authorities” in the country’s capital Addis Ababa, but he told the BBC that he intends to return to Tigray.

Federal authorities in Ethiopia have not commented yet.

Getachew accused his rival of colluding with neighboring Eritrea, who participated in the civil war in Tigray and established tough relationships with the Ethiopian government in a press statement Thursday.

“We have reason to believe outside actors are involved,” he said, accusing Eritrea of being the ones who think “they will benefit from the turmoil in Tigray.”

Eritrea denies any such intention, but its army fought in the last war, which was accused of mass killing and rape.

The two close relatives rejected the allegations linked to Eritrea and downplayed the possibility of another round of conflict.

Getachew accused senior officer Tiglean of trying to coordinate an “open coup” when talking about the BBC’s news day.

Tensions have sparked new anxiety in the region, which has not recovered from the conflict ending in 2022 after the TPLF and the Ethiopian government signed a peace agreement.

The agreement led to the establishment of an interim government, which should manage Tigery before the regional elections were held.

But the delay in implementing the protocol has contributed to a sharp split within the TPLF.

Several countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Union, warned of escalating tensions, saying they had to “no return to violence.”

On Thursday, France called on its nationals in Tigray to “stock emergency supplies and do their best to be cautious.”

The African Union said in a statement that it was following the incident of “deep attention” by Tigray.

Other reports by Wycliffe Muia