Ethiopia’s Tigray Interim government has made an urgent request for federal intervention following capture on Tuesday of two big towns by a breakaway faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), prompting fears of renewed war.
On March 11th, it outlawed the TPLF faction seizure of Adigrat, Tigray’s second largest town, appointing a new governor, dismissing the senior official loyal to the interim government. A day later the force captured Adi-Gudem, a town a short distance from the regional capital Mekele. Several civilians reportedly were shot in the alleged attempt to capture a government building in Adi-Gudem.
The latest twists come after a period of deep spring of internal conflict within the TPLF, even though after the 2022 Pretoria Peace Agreement, at the end of a raging two years struggle, that claimed over hundreds of thousands killed and millions displaced. In October 2024, the party split after leader Debretsion Gebremichael removed there interim leader Getachew Reda and several officials. 
Reda denounces the recent gains as a “plots for coup attempt” and calls on the international community to follow “ closely deteriorating situation.” “The area is on the cusp of another crisis, oluştur the Tigray Communication Affairs Bureau said in a statement.
At the same time, TPLF deputy chairman Amanuel Assefa rejected that he violated the peace deal, saying that the action was taken for the sake of enforcement of law and order.
The anticipation of more bloodshed hangs over Ethiopia’s strife-torn Tigray region.
