The dissident faction of the main political party in the northern Tigay region of Ethiopia has taken control of key offices and a radio station in the regional capital Mekelle in the midst of growing fear of fresh conflict.
This follows the struggle for deepening power within the Tigray People’s Front (TPLF), which caused concern for returning to the Civil War.
One resident of Mekelle told the BBC that people withdraw money from their bank accounts, fearing that the security situation could get worse.
On Tuesday, the same faction took control of Adigrat, Tigress’s second largest city.
Getachew Order, President of the Tiger Temporary Administration, accused the rival group, led by Deretsion Gebremichael of trying to forcibly remove it from duty.
Getachew became Tigay’s leader after the peace agreement in 2022, which ended two years of conflict in the region, which killed about 500,000 people.
Deretsion Gebremichael was previously a region leader, but over the past year, relationships broke out the man who replaced him.
On Thursday, members of the Deretsion faction, accompanied by armed soldiers, took control of the Radio Stanica Mekelle FM and the Mayor’s Office in the City.
The shootings were heard on Wednesday night at ADI-Gudema, a city near Mekelle, when the forces from the dissident faction tried to occupy the government building.
The forces allegedly arrested the mayor of the city and took control of the office.
Getachew suspended three Tigay defense forces, accusing the rival faction of trying to destabilize the region.
On Wednesday, Getachew asked the Ethiopian Government to “provide the necessary help” without citing the type of support.
Currently, he is in the capital of the country’s Officer’s capital for “Counseling with Federal Authorities,” but he told the BBC to intend to return to Tigry.
Federal authorities in Ethiopia have not yet commented.
In a press statement on Thursday, Getachew accused his rivals of facing neighboring Eritrea, who was involved in Tigray’s Civil War and has a fractive relationship with the Ethiopia.
“We have reason to believe that external actors are involved,” he said, accusing Eritrea of being among those who think he will “benefit from unrest in Tigray.”
Eritrea denies any such intention, but his army fought in the previous war, where she was accused of mass murder and rape.
Two close allies from Debrezija rejected a charge with which they were related to Eritrea and diminished the possibility of a second round of conflict.
In an interview with the Newsday BBC program, Getachew accused high tiger military officers of trying to orchestrate an “open coup”.
The tensions caused fresh anxiety in the region, which is yet to recover from the conflict that ended in 2022 after the TPLF and the Ethiopian government signed a peace treaty.
The agreement led to the creation of a temporary administration, which should manage Tigay until regional elections are held.
But delays in the implementation of the agreement encouraged sharp divisions within TPLF.
Several countries, including the US, Britain and the European Union, warned of escalating tension, saying that it should not be “restored to violence”.
On Thursday, France invited her nationals in Tigay to “supply emergency supplies and do the most caution.”
In a statement, the African Union announced that the events in Tigay with “deep concern” followed.
Additional reporting Wycliffe Muia
