Ethiopia Accuses Former Foes of Backing TPLF As Alliances Shift

Now, less than four years later, Addis Ababa says those same former allies are supporting the TPLF. In March 2025, Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) fighters led by Debretsion Gebremichael seized the regional radio station and the mayor’s office in Mekele, along with towns along the Eritrean border, including parts of Sehartie district and Adigrat, the region’s second-largest city, according to the Africa Center for Strategic Studies. The center also said Eritrea still controls parts of Irob and Shiraro districts despite a peace agreement requiring foreign forces to withdraw. In October 2025, Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a letter to the United Nations, accused the TPLF and Eritrea of “financing, mobilising and directing” Fano forces that advanced in North Wollo.