October 10, 2024
borkena
Toronto – Debretsion Gebremichael, leader of one faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), on Wednesday has reportedly met with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in Addis Ababa.
Earlier this week, his faction announced that it had removed Getachew Reda , president, and 14 other members of the Interim Tigray Administration.
According to sources, his meeting with Abiy Ahmed related to the decision that his faction passed regarding Getachew Reda and his Colleagues.
Leualawi Media, a pro-government media outlet, reported that Debretsion did not get what he wanted out of the meeting.
Other Ethiopian news sources report that Abiy Ahmed did not treat Debretsion as a legitimate representative of the TPLF. He cited that the representation has to be in “accordance with the law.” Also, there are indications that Abiy Ahmed advised Debretsion to resolve differences with Getachew Reda’s faction, or else he would consider Tsadkan Gebretensae for interim government presidential position. However, the latter point is not confirmed from multiple sources.
Debretsion Gebremichal was re-elected as chairman of the TPLF during the party congress his party organized in August this year. However, the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) did not recognize the congress and the decision from it. It was said that the congress was not conducted in accordance with the NEBE rules.
Tension between Getachew’s Faction and Debretsion’s faction escalated over the past few months. The former warned the latter this week following what he calls a “putsch.”
There have been concerns that differences between the two groups could lead to conflict in the region. However, the security forces in the region issued a statement this week highlighting the confrontation between the two factions of the TPLF has caused fear in the region and that it will not tolerate any action that leads to security problems in the region.
The implication of Abiy Ahmed’s rejection of demand from Debretsion ‘s faction is uncertain. With the emerging alliance between Egypt, Eritrea and Somalia, it remains to be seen whether his faction will consider a different option to pursue its goal which is control of power in Tigray region. What is known at this point is that a TPLF faction has recently been meeting with Eritrea outside of Ethiopia and that Egypt has been trying to mediate between Eritrea and the TPLF.
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