Col. Tewolde says Tadesse Werede and his associates escaped rather than being released; the four have reached Mekelle
Col. Tewolde Gebretensae told UMD Media the escape was carried out at Rama on the morning of 12 October. Natna News could not verify the account.

Col. Tewelde Gebretinsae told BBC Tigrigna that the four detainees were taken from Mekelle at night and then separated — Lt. Gen. Tadesse Werede and Isaias Tadesse held in Aksum, Tewelde and Col. Gebreegziabher Alemseged in Adwa — before being moved to Rama near the Eritrean border. He said they were kept in isolation with no contact with their families and were deliberately deprived of food, with one meal coming after four days without any. He said they feared being handed over to Eritrea and escaped without negotiation or outside help, reaching areas under Ethiopian army protection. Kulu Media, which carried the interview, said the account is not independently verified, that Tewelde did not say who ordered the detention, and that the Tigray Police and local courts denied responsibility.
Col. Tewolde Gebretensae told UMD Media that he, Tadesse Werede and their associates were not released but escaped from Rama on the morning of 12 October. Kulu Media, citing a BBC Tigrigna interview, said the four had been held in isolation and feared being transferred into Eritrea. Natna News could not verify the account.
Col. Tewolde Gebretensae said in a telephone interview with UMD Media that he, Lt. Gen. Tadesse Werede and other associates were not released but escaped from the custody of the security apparatus of the withdrawing TPLF-led regional administration.
Tewolde said they were taken out of Mekelle on 2 October and that their last location was Rama, near the Eritrean border. He said the escape was carried out on the morning of 12 October with the help of guards, drivers and members of the Rama district administration. He said he entered Mekelle as a civilian and that the Ethiopian army played no part in his arrival. He said Tadesse Werede and the other associates have also reached Mekelle.
Kulu Media, citing a BBC Tigrigna interview with the journalist Yemane Nagish, named the four as Tadesse Werede, the former president of the Tigray interim administration, Col. Tewolde Gebretensae, Isaias Tadesse and Col. Gebreegziabher Alemseged. It said Tewolde described being held in isolation and deprived of food, said the men feared they were being positioned for transfer into Eritrea, and said the escape was carried out against the wishes of those holding them.
Natna News could not verify the account. It rests on one of the men who escaped, and the Ethiopian army has issued no statement on the escape or on whether the men are in its custody.
