Tigray party restores pre-war government in threat to northern Ethiopia peace

May 5 - Tigray's main political party reasserted control over the northern Ethiopian region's political administration on Tuesday, following through on a threat to violate a key provision of the deal that ended a civil war with the federal government.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) said in a statement it had restored the legislative council that existed before the 2020-2022 civil war and that the council had elected TPLF chair Debretsion Gebremichael as regional president.

The TPLF announced last month that it would restore pre-war political structures, accusing the federal government of provoking armed conflict with Tigray, withholding funds for paying civil servants and extending the tenure of the interim administration's president without consulting it. The prospect prompted an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to warn that "catastrophic conflict" could return to the region. The European Union and Britain have called for de-escalation over the past week.

Abiy's spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, did not respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the TPLF did not respond to a request for comment about what prompted the decision or its potential consequences.

2020-2022 CIVIL WAR WAS ONE OF CENTURY'S DEADLIEST

The conflict in Tigray, which drew in forces from neighbouring Eritrea, was one of the century's deadliest, killing hundreds of thousands of people through direct violence, the collapse of healthcare and famine, according to researchers.

It stemmed from a breakdown in relations between the TPLF, a guerrilla movement turned political party that dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades, and Abiy, whose appointment as prime minister in 2018 ended the TPLF’s dominance.

"The decision by TPLF ... is clearly a major escalation. If mitigating efforts and (a) process of de-escalation are not introduced quickly, this may trigger the outbreak of new armed conflict," Kjetil Tronvoll, a professor of peace and conflict studies at Oslo New University College and a scholar of the TPLF, told Reuters.

The Pretoria Agreement has come under strain in recent months, with armed skirmishes breaking out since January between TPLF forces and the federal army and government-aligned fighters.

TPLF MOVE CREATES RIVAL POLITICAL ADMINISTRATIONS

The Pretoria Agreement created an interim administration, established through dialogue between the TPLF and Ethiopia's federal government, to govern Tigray until new elections could be organised.

The TPLF last month said it would replace the interim administration, accusing the federal government of violating the Pretoria Agreement by extending the term of the interim administration's president's party without consulting it.

Reuters could not independently verify the TPLF's claims about the alleged violations of the peace deal and the federal government has not directly responded to them.

The interim administration's president, Tadesse Worede, has said he intends to remain in his post, creating two rival authorities.

On Monday, there was an explosion near the interim administration's offices in the regional capital Mekelle, a local resident told Reuters. The BBC's Tigrinya language service quoted the police as saying a hand grenade had caused the explosion but that there were no casualties.

It was not clear who may have been responsible. REUTERS