Ethiopia installs interim administration in Tigray – Rubio urges de-escalation
After the TPLF was driven from Mekelle, Addis Ababa is taking over Tigray's administration for six months. The U.S. is pressing Ethiopia and Eritrea to avoid a new war.
Archive image · Photo: Mulugeta Atsbeha / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has announced a six-month interim administration for the Tigray region. The aim is "a stable political situation so that free and transparent elections can be held," his office said on Friday after a cabinet decision. The federal government also appointed five officials, including the mayor of the regional capital, Mekelle. The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) launched an offensive on September 23 but was pushed back and lost its strongholds; there was no immediate TPLF response.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio phoned Abiy on Wednesday and urged dialogue based on the 2018 peace deal with Eritrea, saying the region could not tolerate more conflict, according to the State Department. Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos accused Eritrea in a letter to the U.N. Security Council of sending troops across the border, without giving evidence. His Eritrean counterpart Osman Saleh spoke of Ethiopia's "deplorable declaration of war." Human Rights Watch reported civilian casualties from shelling in southern Tigray and called for humanitarian access.