Authorities in Ethiopia’s Afar region have accused fighters from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) of crossing the border into Afar and seizing six villages in the Megale district. The TPLF forces reportedly attacked pastoralist communities in the Tonsa area with heavy weapons, marking one of the most serious flare-ups since the two-year northern conflict ended in 2022 with the Pretoria Agreement. The Afar regional government warned it would defend itself if these attacks continued.
The TPLF, which controlled Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades before being ousted in 2018, fought federal troops in a devastating conflict from 2020 to 2022. Despite the peace deal, tensions persist with internal divisions within the TPLF and sporadic violence. Some former senior TPLF members have formed new political movements; for example, Getachew Reda, a former spokesperson and interim Tigray administrator, now holds a federal advisory role.
The TPLF has not publicly responded to these recent accusations from the Afar regional government. The situation highlights ongoing instability and mistrust in northern Ethiopia despite the peace deal and raises fears of renewed conflict in the region.
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