A delegation from Ethiopia’s Tigray Interim Council held talks this week with U.S. Ambassador Ervin Massinga in Addis Ababa, as the region grapples with mounting political unrest and concerns over the future of the Pretoria peace agreement.
Council Speaker Moges Tafere and Deputy Speaker Dejen Mezgebe led the delegation, which discussed several key issues, including the stalled implementation of the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, the return of internally displaced persons, and the need to hold regional elections, according to Ethiopian news outlet The Reporter.
The meeting comes at a time of escalating internal divisions within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). A faction led by Debretsion Gebremichael, reportedly backed by elements of the regional military and Eritrean interests, is said to have mounted a so-called “creeping coup” against the current interim administration.
Tigray Interim President Getachew Reda, who established the delegation two months ago, is reportedly outside the country in Dubai for medical treatment. He has accused Debretsion’s camp of harboring ambitions to seize Addis Ababa by force and warned of a potential push for Tigray’s secession from Ethiopia.
The delegation also intends to meet with representatives from the European Union and African Union in the coming days, signaling growing international engagement in the Tigray crisis.
In recent years, foreign diplomatic missions in Ethiopia have increasingly engaged directly with regional governments on political matters, a trend that some observers say reflects the country’s shifting federal dynamics.
