After military pushed back TPLF uprising, PM Abiy Ahmed promises free elections within six months.
Ethiopia has announced that an interim government will take control of the state of Tigray, after its armed forces retook control of the northern region.
The installation of the six-month administration was announced in a statement by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday. He pledged that free elections would then be held in the state.
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The move comes after the Ethiopian military pushed back an uprising launched last month by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). Tigray’s main political party had launched the insurrection after announcing in April that it was retaking control of the region, effectively ending a peace deal with Ethiopia’s federal government.
The government promised that the interim government would create “a stable political situation” in Tigray so that free elections could be held. It has appointed five officials to run the state, including the mayor of the capital, Mekelle.
The officials will carry out “directives and instructions” delivered directly from the federal government.
The TPLF has yet to respond to the announcement. The rebel group launched an ambitious offensive in September in alliance with several other armed groups aimed at toppling the Abiy government. The Ethiopian government has accused the breakaway state of Eritrea of supporting the TPLF, accusations that Eritrea has denied.
After some early gains in the Afar region, its fighters were defeated and lost Tigray’s major cities. They surrendered in Mekelle in early October. Eritrean troops who had entered Tigray withdrew after heavy drone strikes from the Ethiopian armed forces.
The TPLF governed Ethiopia for nearly 30 years until 2018, when Abiy’s party came to power. Tigray, in response, boycotted national elections and rejected the central government, creating a severe rift.
The region remains scarred by the 2020-2022 war between federal forces, backed at that time by Eritrea, and the TPLF, which resulted in the killing of almost 600,000 people.
A peace deal ended the fighting, but key promises were not kept, including the return of displaced people and the disarmament of the TPLF.
Since the recent escalation, Ethiopia and Eritrea have accused each other of inciting war, raising fears of a wider conflict.
On Wednesday, the United States urged both sides to “de-escalate” during a phone call between Abiy and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio.