Ethiopia accused of threat to peace with Tigray boundary change

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ADDIS ABABA — Ethiopia on Monday redrew the electoral boundary of Tigray, where many fear a fresh war is imminent, in a move denounced as a "threat to peace" by Tigrayan leaders.

The announcement by the electoral commission came ahead of federal elections set for June 1.

A 2020-2022 civil war between the federal government and Tigrayan rebels killed at least 600,000 people.

In violation of the 2022 peace deal that ended the war, government-allied forces from the neighbouring Amhara region have never pulled back from some Tigrayan border areas.

The election commission said five "disputed constituencies" along the border should be treated as separate from Tigray "until their respective claims are resolved".

Tigray's current administration, installed by the federal government, called the announcement "a flagrant violation of the constitution and the Pretoria Agreement", referring to the 2022 peace deal.

Getachew Reda, a Tigrayan rebel leader during the war who has since joined the federal government, also criticised the announcement, saying it would "destabilise even more our country's peace".

Fears of a fresh conflict are growing, with federal and Tigrayan forces massed at their borders in recent weeks, leading to brief clashes last month.

The Tigray People's Liberation Front dominated the whole of Ethiopia from 1991 until the rise of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in 2018.

Abiy marginalised the TPLF and banned the party entirely last year. There are no representatives from Tigray in the current federal parliament, elected in 2021, as voting took place during the civil war.