Former Nigerian President Holds Unscheduled Talks in Mekelle as TPLF Demands Lifted Blockades, Restored Legal Status, and Territorial Reversal
By Borkena Desk
TORONTO, Canada — Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) leaders on Tuesday met Chief AU mediator of the Pretoria Agreement, Olusegun Obasanjo—who is also former Nigerian President—in Mekelle, discussing the prospect of conditional engagement with the federal government.
The TPLF, which established a de facto administration in the Tigray region after removing the Tigray Interim Administration under Gen. Tadesse Worede in April this year, released a statement regarding the talks.
Olusegun Obasanjo was not expected in Mekelle this week, requiring TPLF leaders to cancel their schedule to meet him. Indications from regional sources suggest the federal government initiated the visit.
The federal government has accused the TPLF of violating the Pretoria Agreement, which ended the 2020–2022 devastating conflict that has caused over 600,000 deaths, according to officials involved in the mediation.
Sources close to the government, such as Lualawi Media, report that Mr. Obasanjo told TPLF leaders that respecting the Pretoria Agreement remains the only way out of escalating regional tension. The federal government carried out several drone strikes in Mekelle and other parts of the region, allegedly targeting TPLF military assets. However, the strikes in Mekelle caused confirmed civilian casualties.
The key message Obasanjo reportedly delivered to TPLF leaders urged them to cease working with Tsemdo forces, restore the interim administration, and implement DDR (Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration), as mandated by the Pretoria provision. The Ethiopian Government Communication Service has not disclosed this publicly.
In its official statement released on Tuesday, the TPLF outlined five preconditions for peaceful engagement with Abiy Ahmed’s government: lifting economic blockades, ending military encircling and actions, restoring what it calls “Tigray sovereign territory” (referring to the Wolkait and Raya areas that were incorporated into Tigray after 1991 and are contested by ethnic Amhara forces amid Ethiopia’s non-sovereign regional state structure), returning displaced persons, and reinstating the TPLF as a legal entity. The federal government previously cut the Tigray regional budget on grounds that the TPLF would use the funds to prepare for war.
The TPLF has played a key role in forming a military and political alliance that began as Tsemdo, with Eritrea acting at least as a backer. Reports from Ethiopian Media Services indicate that Tsemdo has transformed into Tibebir (translating to coalition), incorporating Fano forces. The TPLF’s willingness to engage the federal government raises questions regarding its commitment to the coalition.
Tension has escalated in the region following further military strikes by the federal government.
The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa released a statement on Tuesday calling Obasanjo’s visit to Mekelle encouraging. He is expected to return in about two weeks, ostensibly bearing responses to the TPLF’s demands.
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