Tigray authorities accuse “enemies” of the peace agreement with Ethiopia of fighting in an area disputed with Amhara

April 16 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The interim authorities established in the Ethiopian region of Tigray (north) after the 2022 peace agreement have accused unspecified “enemies” of being behind the recent fighting in an area in dispute with the Amhara region, after several days of combat that have had their epicenter in the town of Raya Alamata.

The town was under Tigray control before the outbreak of the conflict between the Army and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in November 2020, when it came under the administration of Amhara, whose special forces supported the Ethiopian Armed Forces. in the aforementioned combats.

Amhara authorities have accused militiamen linked to the TPLF of launching an offensive in the area, although the head of the interim Tigray authorities, Getachew Reda – who is also a senior official of the Tigrayan group – has pointed to “retrograde enemies” of the peace agreement to be behind these incidents.

“The developments in southern Tigray and other occupied territories of Tigray are not a conflict between the federal government and the interim administration or the TPLF. Nor is it a conflict between the administrations of Tigray and Amhara. It is the work of retrograde enemies of the agreement that seek to take advantage of real or perceived differences to derail cordial interactions between the parties,” he argued.

Thus, Getachew stressed that “both parties” maintain contacts in the capital, Addis Ababa, to “address challenges and advance common points.” “It is not totally impossible to believe that this will lead to positive results,” he argued on his account on the social network X.

At the moment it is not clear whether the fighting has resulted in victims, while the central authorities have stated that the Armed Forces will control the disputed areas until there is a definitive agreement between the parties, fearing that the conflict will expand. of the last few months in Amhara.

The Government of Ethiopia declared a state of emergency in Amhara in August 2023 after months of clashes between security forces and Fano militias, which collaborated with Amhara troops during the 2020-2022 war against the TPLF.

Tensions erupted over the authorities' decision to dissolve the regional special forces – including the especially powerful Amhara ones – within the framework of the peace process with the TPLF. Various members of these special forces joined the Fano militias and attacked the Army and politicians for this measure.