By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Ethiopia, 21 April 2026 - A fragile peace in northern Ethiopia is under renewed threat after the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) announced plans to reinstate the region’s pre-war governing structures, a move that could unravel the 2022 peace deal that ended one of Africa’s deadliest conflicts.
In a statement released on 20 April 2026, the TPLF said it would take back control of Tigray’s administration, effectively sidelining the interim arrangement established under the Pretoria Agreement.
The party accused Ethiopia’s federal government of violating the terms of the agreement, warning that the situation was deteriorating rapidly.
“It is in a hurry to launch a bloody war once again,” the TPLF said, alleging that Addis Ababa had withheld funds meant for civil servants and unilaterally extended the mandate of the interim regional leadership.
The Pretoria Agreement, signed in November 2022, brought an end to a brutal two-year war between federal forces and Tigrayan fighters that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions.
It established an interim administration in Tigray, led by former TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda, as a transitional structure ahead of elections and political normalisation.
But that arrangement has been under increasing pressure in recent months.
Armed clashes have already been reported since early 2026, with tensions rising between TPLF-aligned forces and federal troops, alongside allied militias. Analysts describe the situation as a “managed instability,” where large-scale war has subsided but underlying political and military tensions remain unresolved.
The TPLF’s latest move has triggered immediate concern, including from within its own ranks.
Getachew Reda, who previously led the interim administration and now serves as an adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, publicly criticised the decision.
Writing on social media, he described the announcement as:
“a clear repudiation” of the post-war framework created by the Pretoria Agreement.
His remarks highlight deepening divisions within Tigray’s political leadership, even as the region faces mounting external pressure.
The federal government has yet to formally respond to the TPLF’s claims, and Reuters noted that the accusations could not be independently verified.
The implications of the TPLF’s decision extend beyond Tigray.
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The original conflict, which began in 2020, drew in multiple actors including Eritrean forces and regional militias, turning northern Ethiopia into a complex and deadly battlefield.
Recent developments suggest those fault lines are re-emerging.
The TPLF has signalled it will not only restore its executive and legislative structures but also strengthen alliances with neighbouring regions and external actors, a move that could reshape the regional security landscape.
At the same time, the Ethiopian government has previously accused the TPLF of attempting to undermine the peace process and even plotting with Eritrea, claims the group has denied.
Despite the cessation of hostilities in 2022, the peace in Tigray has remained delicate.
Key provisions of the agreement, including disarmament, restoration of contested territories, and the return of displaced populations, have faced delays and disputes.
Periodic clashes, funding disputes, and political disagreements have kept the region on edge, with humanitarian conditions still fragile and infrastructure yet to fully recover.
The latest announcement by the TPLF now raises the prospect of a full breakdown in the peace framework.
If implemented, the move would effectively dismantle the interim governance structure and replace it with the pre-war political order, an action likely to be viewed by the federal government as a direct challenge to its authority.
The situation remains fluid, with no immediate indication of how Addis Ababa will respond or whether mediation efforts, potentially led by the African Union, will be reactivated.
What is clear, however, is that the risk of renewed conflict is no longer hypothetical.
It is immediate.
And for a region still recovering from a war that reshaped Ethiopia’s political and humanitarian landscape, the cost of a return to violence could be devastating.