Ethiopia sets up Tigray caretaker government as ex-fighters seek return to civilian life

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia's government set up a six-month caretaker administration for Tigray following renewed fighting in the region, as hundreds of former combatants registered Friday for a program to help them return to civilian life.

The new administration is expected to restore public services, help displaced people return and prepare for elections within six months under federal oversight, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office said.

The announcement follows the withdrawal of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front from Mekelle and the entry of government-allied fighters into the regional capital on Oct. 4.

Renewed fighting in the northern region in recent weeks has effectively shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war. Ethiopia also has accused Eritrean troops of occupying parts of its territory, while Eritrea condemned Ethiopia for what it called a declaration of war.

At Mekelle’s Tigray Martyrs’ Memorial Monument, former fighters lined up to register with the authorities, some carrying papers or sheltering under umbrellas. Registration began Wednesday. Authorities declined to say how many former fighters had signed up.

“We were called upon by the TPLF to rejoin our former comrades and units, and doing so was even considered mandatory,” said Filmon Gebreselassie, a 33-year-old day laborer. “However, I did not want to return (to war). I decided instead to focus on raising my children.”

He said that he had disarmed after the 2022 peace agreement in Tigray, but had been unable to register before the reintegration program was suspended as new tensions rose.

Other former fighters were also signing up because they did not want to fight again, he said.

Many young men at the registration office declined interviews, citing fear of retaliation from the TPLF.

In an Oct. 14 statement on its official Facebook page, the TPLF denounced Tigrayans collaborating with the federal government as “traitors” and said they would face “accountability and public judgment.”

Human Rights Watch reported in June that Tigrayan authorities then in charge of Mekelle had ordered former fighters back to their units in a compulsory recruitment campaign. A TPLF spokesperson said those defending the region were volunteers, according to the watchdog.

The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former Tigrayan fighters is part of the 2022 peace agreement.

Abiy’s office accused the TPLF of obstructing the agreement and said the latest fighting ended in its defeat. The TPLF urged its forces to continue fighting and called on Tigrayans to support them.

Magnus Taylor, deputy Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, cautioned against equating the loss of towns with an end to fighting.

“We shouldn’t imagine that this conflict is completely over just because the TPLF has lost Mekelle,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Capturing towns and roads would hamper Tigrayan forces without necessarily securing the vast rural areas where they regrouped during the previous war, Taylor said.

Ethiopia also has accused Eritrean troops of occupying its territory, an allegation the AP could not independently verify. Eritrea described Ethiopia’s assertion that it was taking self-defense measures as a declaration of war.

Taylor warned that the proximity of the countries’ forces increased the risk of a wider conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged de-escalation in a call with Abiy on Wednesday, according to the State Department.

Eritrean troops fought alongside Ethiopian forces during the 2020-2022 war, which caused about 500,000 civilian deaths through violence, famine and collapsed health services, according to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium.

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Associated Press writers Amir Aman Kiyaro in Hamburg, Germany, Filmon Equar Hailu in Mekelle, Ethiopia and Desmond Tiro in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.