Ethiopia’s Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has announced the reinstatement of the region’s government, raising fears over the collapse of the 2022 peace deal, according to Al Jazeera. The TPLF made the announcement in a Facebook post on Sunday, sparking fears of a resumption of the deadly conflict that raged between the government and regional forces between 2020 and 2022.

Reinstating the Tigray Government

The TPLF said its central committee “has decided to reinstate the Tigray Government Assembly (parliament), which had been suspended in the name of peace.” The statement accused the federal government of violating the 2022 Pretoria Agreement, which ended the war, and of provoking armed conflict within the Tigray region. It also accused the government of withholding funds to pay local civil servants.

Getachew Reda. The party’s former spokesman and an adviser to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said the TPLF’s statement constituted “a clear repudiation” of the post-war structure created by the Pretoria Agreement. The conflict stemmed from a breakdown in relations between the TPLF, a rebel-movement-turned-political party that dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades, and Abiy, whose appointment as prime minister in 2018 ended the TPLF’s dominance.

Escalating Tensions and Casualties

The war. In which at least 600. 000 people were killed and some 5 million displaced, pitted federal forces, supported by the Eritrean army, against TPLF rebels. The conflict ceased in late 2022 as the African Union mediated the Pretoria Agreement, which called for an interim administration to replace Tigray’s elected bodies until new elections could be organised.

Despite progress in implementing the deal, it has come under strain in recent months; In January, clashes erupted in Tigray, and one person was also killed in drone strikes in the northern region. The Tigray province is also suffering the effects of United States President Donald Trump’s funding cuts to the US Agency for International Development last year, which was once Ethiopia’s largest source of humanitarian aid.

Humanitarian organisations say that up to 80 percent of the population needs emergency support, and funding shortfalls are placing a strain on the health system; the situation has led to fears that the fragile peace deal could unravel, with TPLF’s actions signaling a potential return to conflict in the region.

International and Regional Concerns

The TPLF’s move has drawn attention from regional and international actors, with concerns growing that the Pretoria Agreement’s framework may no longer be in effect; the TPLF’s decision to reinstate its government has been seen as a direct challenge to the federal government’s authority in Tigray.

Analysts have warned that the reinstatement of the Tigray Government Assembly could lead to renewed clashes, as both sides have previously accused each other of violating the peace terms. The situation is further complicated by ongoing tensions with Eritrea, which supported Ethiopia’s federal forces during the war.

The TPLF’s actions have also been linked to broader political tensions in Ethiopia, where the federal government and regional authorities have struggled to maintain stability, and the reinstatement of the Tigray government has added another layer of complexity to the already fraught political landscape.

With the TPLF’s announcement, fears over Ethiopia’s peace deal have intensified, raising concerns about the future of the region and the potential for renewed violence — the situation remains highly volatile, with no clear resolution in sight.