Ethiopia sets up Tigray interim gov’t as part of peace plan

Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has established an interim administration for the Horn of Africa country’s northern region of Tigray, a key step in the implementation of a peace plan to end the war there.

The interim administration was set up by the upper chamber of Ethiopia’s parliament and appointed Tigray People’s Liberation Front delegates Getachew Reda as head of the interim administration, a statement posted on Abiy’s Facebook page said.

It was necessary “to establish an inclusive interim administration, ensure a sustainable peace and stop conflict”, the statement said.

The decision was one of the agreed outcomes signed as part of a peace pact signed in South Africa in November 2022 between the TPLF and the federal government to end the war in Tigray.

The truce ended the conflict after tens of thousands of people were killed and millions were forced from their homes.

The lack of an interim government has been hampering the humanitarian response across Tigray, where millions are in dire need of assistance, according to aid workers.

Salaries for civil servants and medical personnel have not been paid, and aid agencies lack a clear interlocutor, they said.

Thursday’s move comes a day after Ethiopia’s parliament voted to remove the TPLF from a list of “terrorist” organisations, a designation dating back to May 2021.