Tigray’s interim administration president, Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede, on Saturday dismissed allegations that the northern Ethiopian region is preparing for a war, amid rising mistrust between the Federal government and the TPLF
“The allegations that we are preparing for war is misleading information,” Tadesse said at the closing session of the Ethiopian Society of Animal Production’s 33rd annual conference, held in Mekelle from Sept. 18-20. “Tigray is working to heal the wounds of the war. The allegations accusing us of preparing for a war are wrong.”
Tadesse urged the federal government officials and all participants of the conference, who he said had witnessed relative peace in Tigray, to challenge what he described as false reports. He also appealed to the Ethiopian Society of Animal Production to support efforts to revive the economy in the war torn Tigray.
The remarks come nearly three years after Ethiopia’s federal government and Tigrayan leaders signed a peace deal in Pretoria that ended the two-year war. Despite the silencing of the guns, underlying political issues remain unresolved, and delays in the full implementation of the agreement have created fresh tension between Addis Ababa and the TPLF. Both sides have traded accusations of bad faith and obstruction. Beyond statements, the rivalry has increasingly spilled into the symbolic realm, with both sides using military parades in recent months to showcase their strength and level new accusations at each other.
Amid this growing distrust many warn that the peace remains fragile and that Ethiopia risks a relapse into conflict if the disputes are not addressed.