Are the recent high-level appointments in Ethiopia likely to ease tensions in Tigray, or might they instead exacerbate them in this northern region of the country, ravaged by two years of war from 2020 to 2022 and plagued by severe tensions in recent months? Last week, two heavyweights in Tigrayan politics were given new responsibilities.

On April 8, Tadesse Werede, who was then the head of the region's defense forces, was appointed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to lead the interim administration of Tigray. He replaced Getachew Reda, whose term ended in late March. Then, on April 11, this round-faced man with a thin mustache, a former spokesperson for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF, which controls the region) who long embodied Tigrayan resistance against Addis Ababa, made a surprise entry into the federal government. Once a vehement opponent of Abiy, he is now his adviser for East Africa, with ministerial rank.

The distancing of this TPLF stalwart 500 km south of Tigray comes after he had entered into direct confrontation with the party's number one, Debretsion Gebremichael. In recent months, their rivalry had escalated into clashes between two rival factions in an area already severely scarred by a war that claimed 600,000 lives over two years.

You have 75.66% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.