The Ethiopian government is portraying the situation in Mekelle as “organized crime” while the TPLF is not making any official statement about it.
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The Ethiopian government on Saturday disclosed that the parts of Tigray region of Ethiopia that are not under the control of the Ethiopian Defense Force are facing a new form of security problem.
The Ministry for government communication services said “…evidence is coming out that organized crimes are being committed in areas that the National Defense Forces have not yet reached.”
Mekelle is one of the areas in the Tigray region where the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) claims to have, as stated by the spokesperson Getachew Reda during his latest interview with BBC hard talk, a “firm control.”
The Ethiopian Defense Force was to enter Mekelle, according to the Pretoria agreement that was signed in early November, “expeditiously” and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) was to disarm fully within a month after the agreement was signed. None of it happened.
It has not happened. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has been avoiding discussing failures on the part of the TPLF to implement the terms Pretoria agreement, which was signed on November 2,2022.
One of the conditions for the end of hostilities between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF was that the latter’s forces were to fully disarm within a month after the agreement was signed, and for the Ethiopian Defense Force to enter Mekelle and be in charge of guarding, among other things, Federal government structures including the airport.
Disclosure from the Ethiopian government indicated that armed robbery has become rampant in Mekelle. It said, “Especially in Mekelle, there are persistent reports that organized robbery is being committed with the accompaniment of armed patrols.”
Based on the information from the government reports about the security situation in Mekelle and other areas that are still under TPLF forces was gathered from residents who reportedly make phone calls, among other methods, to federal government authorities to report about the situation.
What are the forces behind organized crimes in the region? The Ethiopian government made claims that “forces that used to benefit from the conflict are behind such crimes.” And it is vowing that it will hold them accountable.
There have been reports about “division” within the TPLF rebel groups after the Pretoria agreement was signed. Not much is known as to the identities of TPLF leaders who are said to have opposed the agreement.
What is the TPLF saying about it?
The TPLF did not deny reports about the security problems in Mekelle and other parts of the region. It indirectly confirmed the problem when it bluffed the Ethiopian government’s ultimatum about holding armed groups accountable.
Getachew Reda, the spokesperson, says one else can resolve the problem.
He tweeted “Whatever security threat we cannot address, what our people cannot address, no one else can, no one else will. Just saying!”
He did so in a direct remark to the statement released by the Ethiopian government.
Whether the security situation is a manufactured one to not implement the peace agreement or real problem that emanated from an alleged group that is said to have drifted from the TPLF remains to be seen.
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