The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) questions the impartiality of chief Pretoria facilitator Olusegun Obasanjo, raising concerns over stalled peace implementation and renewed regional tensions
Borkena Desk
(TORONTO, Canada) — The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) stated on Sunday that it remains firmly committed to peace and credible dialogue. However, the organization no longer appears to accept former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as a mediator.
The TPLF currently runs the Tigray regional state after removing by force the Tadesse Worede-led interim administration in April this year on the grounds that the extension of his term violated the Pretoria Agreement, for which Obasanjo served as chief facilitator. The TPLF has lost its legal political party status with the National Electoral Board of Ethiopia, with rule infractions cited for the decision, including the manner in which it handled its last party congress.
In a statement released on Sunday, the TPLF highlighted several reasons why it believes Obasanjo may not be an impartial mediator.
“His conduct,” the TPLF stated, “has increasingly raised serious questions about whether he is acting independently or at the behest of the Federal Government.”
One reason cited by the TPLF is that the mediator referenced the Biafra case and the Nigerian Civil War as an example, despite the conflict’s outcome not resulting from a negotiated settlement. The TPLF argued that the Biafra experience brought about “…military encirclement, economic blockade, siege, starvation, catastrophic civilian deprivation, and, ultimately, military defeat.”
The organization accused the Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed-led federal government of intensifying an economic blockade and siege, military encirclement, psychological warfare, and relentless drone surveillance. It also accused the international community and the African Union of abandoning the implementation of the Pretoria Agreement, asserting that the federal government violated the accord and “intensified the economic blockade and siege, military encirclement, psychological warfare, and relentless drone surveillance against Tigray.”
Another reason cited by the TPLF for its reservations regarding Obasanjo-led negotiations is that Obasanjo apparently broke a promise. During his visit to Tigray in June 2026, which the TPLF described as an extensive discussion, “he promised to return within one or, at most, two weeks.” However, that did not happen, taking more than two months before he returned to Tigray. Furthermore, his return occurred without notifying TPLF leaders. According to the TPLF, he explained the delay by stating that “Federal Government authorities had instructed him to wait” until the National Dialogue Conference was completed.
The TPLF said his arrival in Tigray this month occurred “without prior notice, without concrete proposals, and without a clearly defined agenda. His most recent engagement was no different: it produced neither tangible movement toward peace nor specific issues around which meaningful negotiations could proceed.”
Conversely, member states of the European Union, Canada, and the United States supported Obasanjo’s diplomatic efforts. His travel to the region followed recurring drone attacks.
The TPLF stated that “a credible peace dialogue requires an impartial and independent mediator!”
Politicians and residents in the region have expressed concern that recent escalations between the TPLF and the federal government could lead to renewed conflict. According to mediators of the Pretoria Agreement, an estimated 600,000 people died during the war between 2020 and 2022.
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