https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/War between Ethiopia's federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front began in November 2020 and ended with an African Union brokered cessation of hostilities signed in Pretoria on 2 November 2022. Estimates of the dead range from under 100,000, cited by some Ethiopian officials, to about 600,000, cited by the AU's lead mediator. After a split in the TPLF in 2025 and the party's deregistration, renewed fighting broke out on 23 September 2026.enhttps://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e28tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-832ec39c63Fri, 16 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000Abiy set up a new interim administration for Tigray to serve for six months and prepare for elections, Reuters reported. AFP said five officials, including the mayor of Mekelle, were appointed to run the region. A TPLF spokesperson did not respond to Reuters.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e27tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-728faeebc6Sun, 11 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000Federal forces and an allied militia entered Adwa a day after TPLF fighters withdrew, residents told AFP. Days earlier government forces had taken Adigrat, and Eritrea had severed diplomatic ties with Ethiopia, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e26tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-48818161f4Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 +0000Federal troops and the pro-government Tigray Peace Forces militia entered Mekelle after retaking its airport, Reuters reported, cited by Al Jazeera. The TPLF said it had temporarily moved out of the city. AP reported that allied fighters entered the city on 4 October.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e25tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-21ac4e2430Wed, 23 Sep 2026 12:00:00 +0000Fighting broke out after seven armed and political groups, including the TPLF, announced an alliance aimed at removing Abiy's government, Al Jazeera reported. The alliance captured Mekelle airport, AFP reported. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea, Sudan and Egypt of backing it. All three deny this, according to AFP.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e24tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-9d7a720ea3Thu, 11 Jun 2026 12:00:00 +0000Getachew Reda, by then minister of East African affairs, and intelligence chief Redwan Hussein wrote in an opinion piece on Al Jazeera's website that hardline TPLF elements planned to attack the federal government with Eritrean help, AFP reported. AFP said direct clashes had resumed in late 2025. The TPLF did not respond to AFP.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e23tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-f36507d230Tue, 05 May 2026 12:00:00 +0000TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael was elected to head the restored regional parliament, AFP reported. A TPLF deputy said the interim administration no longer existed.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e22tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-04b96a6c8aWed, 01 Apr 2026 12:00:00 +0000The TPLF said at the end of April 2026 that it had reinstated the regional parliament that had been suspended under the peace agreement, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e21tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-6ead4955d8Wed, 14 May 2025 12:00:00 +0000The National Election Board of Ethiopia revoked the TPLF's legal status, saying it had failed to meet its registration obligations, the state Ethiopian News Agency reported. BBC News said the failure to hold a general assembly was cited. In a letter to the African Union, the TPLF said the ban threatened the peace process and asked the AU to press the government to suspend it.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e20tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-266eb405b5Tue, 08 Apr 2025 12:00:00 +0000Abiy appointed Tadesse Werede, deputy head of the interim administration and a former senior TPLF commander, to lead it, Reuters reported. Getachew's two-year term had expired, Reuters said.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e19tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-495a5a92c4Thu, 13 Mar 2025 12:00:00 +0000A TPLF faction led by former regional leader Debretsion Gebremichael took control of Mekelle's FM radio station and the mayor's office, two days after taking Adigrat, BBC News reported. Getachew, who was in Addis Ababa, accused the faction of trying to remove him by force and of colluding with Eritrea, which Eritrea denied.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e18tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-5026bf850cThu, 23 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0000Abiy established an interim administration for Tigray under the Pretoria agreement, with TPLF official Getachew Reda named to head it, Al Jazeera reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e17tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-330a11a590Wed, 22 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0000Ethiopia's parliament removed the TPLF from its list of terrorist organisations, Al Jazeera and AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e16tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-9dc9fb7afcSun, 01 Jan 2023 12:00:00 +0000Olusegun Obasanjo, the African Union's lead mediator, told the Financial Times that about 600,000 people had been killed, The National reported. It said some Ethiopian officials put the figure under 100,000.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e15tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-eaa305d1ebWed, 02 Nov 2022 12:00:00 +0000The two sides signed an agreement for a permanent cessation of hostilities. Under the text, the TPLF was to complete its disarmament, including light weapons, within 30 days, federal authority was to be restored in Tigray, an interim regional administration settled through dialogue was to govern until elections, and the government was to facilitate the lifting of the TPLF's terrorist designation. A joint committee chaired by the AU was to monitor implementation. The text does not name Eritrea.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e14tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-b7a7d51af4Tue, 25 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0000African Union led peace talks between the federal government and the TPLF began in Pretoria, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e13tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-0af3339e57Thu, 01 Sep 2022 12:00:00 +0000Tigrayan authorities said they were ready for a ceasefire and a peace process mediated by the African Union, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e12tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-c3228714dcWed, 24 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0000The truce collapsed as fighting resumed on Tigray's southern border, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e11tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-b05603d71bThu, 24 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0000The government declared an indefinite humanitarian truce to allow aid into Tigray, and Tigrayan forces agreed to a cessation of hostilities, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e10tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-4a53de0b85Tue, 01 Mar 2022 12:00:00 +0000Researchers at Ghent University in Belgium estimated in March 2022 that up to 500,000 people had died, including from fighting, lack of medical care and starvation, The National reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e9tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-e4bfcf1542Wed, 24 Nov 2021 12:00:00 +0000Abiy went to the front line to direct his troops in person, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e8tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-dc6bddba59Wed, 03 Nov 2021 12:00:00 +0000A joint investigation by the UN Human Rights Office and the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, covering November 2020 to 28 June 2021, found reasonable grounds to believe that all parties had violated international law, and that some violations may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e7tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-5a6b64db9dTue, 02 Nov 2021 12:00:00 +0000After Tigrayan forces pushed into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions, Ethiopia declared a nationwide state of emergency, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e6tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-092aa5aa09Mon, 28 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0000The TPLF said it was back in control of Mekelle, and the federal government declared an immediate unilateral ceasefire through the farming season, Al Jazeera reported. The UN said about 350,000 people faced famine conditions.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e5tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-a310d1de05Sat, 01 May 2021 12:00:00 +0000Ethiopia designated the TPLF a terrorist organisation in May 2021, Al Jazeera later reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e4tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-247ebc7c52Mon, 01 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000Abiy acknowledged that Eritrean forces were in Tigray and announced their departure, AFP reported. The same month US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke of "ethnic cleansing" in Tigray, according to AFP.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e3tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-8d526e02eeMon, 01 Feb 2021 12:00:00 +0000Amnesty International said Eritrean soldiers killed hundreds of civilians in Axum in November 2020, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e0tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-8bab0b7f1eWed, 04 Nov 2020 12:00:00 +0000Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military response to what he called a "traitorous" attack on federal army camps in Tigray, which he blamed on the TPLF, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e1tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-f466280edaSun, 01 Nov 2020 12:00:00 +0000Eritrea sent troops into Tigray to support Ethiopian forces shortly after the operation began, AFP reported.https://howitunfolded.com/rivalries/tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement/#e2tigray-war-and-pretoria-agreement-1c181ef97cSun, 01 Nov 2020 12:00:00 +0000Federal forces entered the regional capital Mekelle in late November and Abiy declared victory, Al Jazeera and AFP reported.