Since the end of the war in northern Ethiopia and the signing of agreements between the Federal Government and the TPLF, which has been ruling Ethiopia for 27 years, heavy weapons have been removed from the rebels and they have been allowed to join the political parties in the country.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed appointed Getachew Reda as the interim president of the Tigray region, who is one of the main leaders of the TPLF and at the same time was the deputy chairman of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. The conflict between the TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael and the interim president of Tigray region has escalated, both sides are criticizing each other in the media.
Getachew Reda is rumored to be pro-government while others are pro-Tigrean nationalists.The latest conflict came to light when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called on the leadership of the TPLF to go through the party registration law by going to the National Elections Board of Ethiopia (NEBE) before the general Party congress while Abiy threatened that Party congress cannot be held as the election committee recognizes TPLF as a full party, Debretsion said that the party meeting will be held and TPLF has been a party.
Getachew who gave a wide-ranging interview to the regional media, talked about the complex challenges in Tigray, such as organized mineral theft, arms smuggling, land grabbing, kidnapping and human trafficking, as well as widespread insecurity and political divisions.
The president also noted that there is widespread theft of gold in the region by organized crime networks involving foreigners from countries such as Senegal, Nigeria and China.
These groups use harmful chemicals that poison animals and destroy the environment, he said.
The president stressed the importance of the cooperation of the central government and the need for the Ethiopian National Election Board
(NEBE) to legally recognize the TPLF before it is submitted to the party congress.
