(MENAFN) Officials in Ethiopia’s Afar region have alleged that armed members of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) crossed into their territory and captured several villages, marking one of the most significant flare-ups since the northern Ethiopia conflict formally ended.

According to regional authorities, TPLF fighters reportedly entered the Tonsa area of Megale district and launched heavy weapon attacks against local pastoralist communities. The Afar administration cautioned that it would “defend itself from external attack” if the alleged assaults continued.

The TPLF, once Ethiopia’s dominant political force for nearly thirty years until its removal from power in 2018, engaged in a brutal two-year war with federal forces between 2020 and 2022.

That conflict, which devastated the northern regions, concluded with the Pretoria Agreement, bringing a fragile peace but leaving behind deep mistrust and unresolved disputes.

Since the accord, divisions within the TPLF have surfaced, with some prominent figures forming new political groups. Among them is Getachew Reda, the former party spokesperson who led Tigray’s interim administration after the peace deal and now serves as Minister Advisor for East African Affairs in the federal government.

As of now, the TPLF has not issued a statement addressing the accusations made by the Afar regional government.

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