Addis Abeba– Diplomats from the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other countries who visited Tigray on February 11, 2025, stated that the return of displaced people should be the “utmost priority” in implementing the Pretoria Peace Agreement and pledged to “throw their full weight behind this effort.”
The delegation, comprising representatives from the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, France, and the European Union, arrived at Mekelle Alula Aba Nega Airport and held separate discussions with Getachew Reda, President of the Tigray Interim Administration, and leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), including Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), regarding the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement. They also visited shelters housing internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Getachew Reda, in a statement on his official X account, said the delegation was received in Mekelle for talks on “the most critical aspects” of the Pretoria Agreement and “the current political situation in Tigray.” He noted that diplomats emphasized the return of IDPs as the “utmost priority for all stakeholders” and assured that they would “do all they can” to support the process.
According to Getachew, there was consensus that Tigray’s internal situation is a result of the “failure of the Interim Administration, the federal government, and other stakeholders” to ensure the timely return of displaced people. He also stated that the ambassadors urged political actors in Tigray to focus on resettlement rather than “constant bickering on less important issues such as the struggle for power, real or perceived.”
The visit by the delegation included meetings with displaced persons at IDP shelters in Mekelle, according to Tigray Television.
Darren Welch, British Ambassador to Ethiopia, who was part of the delegation, said the purpose of the visit was to assess the peace situation in Tigray and “ensure the full implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement.” He told displaced people, “We want to assure you that the international community hasn’t forgotten you.”
Alex Lamic, French Ambassador to Ethiopia, who described this as his first visit to IDP shelters, said France would “work with the federal government to implement the Pretoria Agreement.”
According to Tigray Television, displaced people in Mekelle told the delegation that the agreement’s lack of implementation had left them in limbo. “For four years, representatives of the international community have listened to us but provided no solutions,” one IDP said. “What we’re asking for now is practical action.”
Others expressed concern over the conditions in which they were living. “Due to the failure of both the Pretoria Peace Agreement signatories and the international community to fulfill their obligations, displaced people are dying of hunger and illness,” one person stated. Some IDPs from Tselemti, they added, were killed after returning home without security guarantees, while others were displaced again.
The delegation also met with TPLF leaders, including Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD), Ammanuel Assefa, deputy leader of TPLF, and Fetlework Gebregziabher, head of the party’s office. According to information from the party’s official Facebook page, the TPLF officials told the diplomats that the agreement’s implementation was “crucial for sustainable peace in the region” and that its non-implementation had resulted in people “dying of hunger and disease in refugee camps.”
The visit comes amid a deepening rift within the TPLF, particularly between factions led by Debretsion Gebremichael and Interim Administration President Getachew Reda, with tensions escalating since the TPLF’s 14th Congress.
This internal split previously led to Debretsion’s group removing Getachew and others from their roles, while the interim administration under Getachew repeatedly accused Debretsion’s faction of attempting to “destabilize” the region through a “coup d’état.”
Tensions have risen recently after some senior members of the Tigray military forces made an unprecedented announcement calling for the dissolution and restructuring of the region’s interim administration. They expressed support for one faction within the TPLF’s political divide, abandoning their previously neutral stance and escalating Tigray’s political crisis into a potential military crisis.
Since the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA), multiple foreign envoys—including U.S. Ambassador to Ethiopia Ervin Massinga—have traveled to Tigray to assess the situation and facilitate dialogue between the interim leadership and the TPLF. AS
