Abraham Belay says a new interim administration will be set up in Tigray with elections within months, and accuses Eritrean forces of fighting alongside the TPLF
The state-run Ethiopian News Agency says the former president of the Tigray interim administration described a federal plan to build new structures from the village level upward.
Al Jazeera reported on Monday that Eritrea's Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel said in a post on X on Sunday that Addis Ababa was trying to create a pretext for attacking Eritrea. The report said Ethiopian officials have accused Eritrea of directly backing the armed alliance fighting in Ethiopia's war. Eritrea denies involvement.
Al Jazeera reported on Monday that Abraham Belay, the former president of the Tigray Interim Administration, told Fana Broadcasting Corporate on Sunday: "We are working to establish a new administrative structure that will enable the people of Tigray to govern themselves." Al Jazeera said he announced preparations for a new interim administration in Tigray, with regional elections planned within months.
The Ethiopian News Agency reports that Abraham Belay said preparations are under way to form a new interim administration in Tigray and to hold regional elections within a few months.
Abraham Belay, former president of the Tigray interim administration, said preparations are under way to establish a new interim administration in Tigray and to hold regional elections within a few months, in an interview carried by the state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).
Belay said the federal government is working to build an administrative structure that will allow the people of Tigray to govern themselves, and that the new structures will be organised from the kebele level upward with direct community participation. He said the Ethiopian National Defence Force is conducting operations to clear what he called illegal armed forces from the region, and called on Ethiopians to support federal efforts to complete the transitional phase.
On security, Belay said both internal and external actors were attempting to destabilise Ethiopia, and said Eritrean forces had taken part in the fighting alongside the TPLF and other groups he described as anti-peace forces. Eritrea has rejected earlier Ethiopian accusations of involvement and has itself accused Ethiopia of invading Eritrean ports and coastal areas. The claims on either side could not be independently verified.