Tigray’s interim administration accused armed groups operating in neighboring Afar region under the name “Tigray Peace Force” of attempting to launch an offensive from the Berhale area against Tigrayan forces. In a statement issued yesterday, the administration said the groups it accused of attempting to launch an attack were confronted and blocked by local residents in Afar who refused to allow them to advance and start fighting. It alleged that the fighters opened fire on civilians in Berhale, in the Afar region.
The administration urged the Afar regional government and Ethiopia’s federal authorities to act swiftly to prevent the situation from escalating into a wider problem that could threaten peace. It also said it remained open to dialogue and negotiations, calling on those who had taken up arms to return to Tigray and address the issues through peaceful means.
Wegahta was unable to independently verify the allegations by the Interim administration and our attempts to reach out to the armed groups in Afar have failed. However the situation reflects growing tensions between the Tigray Defence Forces and the recently formed “Tigray Peace Force”, which have been simmering for months. The TPF, made up of former Tigrayan fighters and political figures, rejects the authority of both the TDF and the Tigray Interim Administration, accusing them of serving the TPLF and vowing to remove them from power.
Both sides have repeatedly accused each other of triggering clashes. The first reported confrontation took place on July 3 in Alasa, on the border between Afar and Tigray, when TPF fighters attempted to enter from Afar, according to local officials. Elders and religious leaders intervened to halt the fighting. Additional skirmishes were reported on June 30 and August 9, though details remain contested.
Residents in Tigray are expressing their concern that such confrontations could spill into a wider intra-Tigray conflict that will open doors for outside actors intervention and undermine fragile peace in Tigray.