The Illegal TPLF Completely Violated the Pretoria Peace Agreement and Prepared for Another Round of War – PM Abiy

Addis Ababa, October 19, 2026 (FMC) — The Pretoria Peace Agreement was meant to end the war, restore essential services and allow the people of Tigray Region to begin rebuilding their lives. Instead, the illegal TPLF pursued weapons and mobilized young people for another round of fighting, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said in a Tigrigna-language interview broadcast across Fana Media Corporation (FMC) platforms.

The agreement established clear obligations: cessation of hostilities, restoration of services, disarmament and reintegration of fighters, the return of displaced people, and recognition of Ethiopia’s constitutional order.

Prime Minister Abiy said the federal government fulfilled its responsibilities, including restoring basic services, while the TPLF violated the agreement’s commitments.

Rather than disarm, the organization solicited and acquired weapons. Instead of reintegrating combatants into civilian life, it organized and forcibly recruited young people. The return of displaced people was obstructed, with their plight used as leverage, according to the Prime Minister’s account of the agreement’s breakdown.

Air transport, telecommunications and banking services also came under disruption, Abiy said, despite the federal government’s efforts to restore essential infrastructure after the conflict. The result was a reversal of the progress required to move the region from war towards peace and recovery.

The government repeatedly urged the TPLF to abandon confrontation, warning that another war would bring no benefit to the people of Tigray Region. The organization ignored those calls and entered another futile conflict in alliance with destructive forces, the Prime Minister said.

The renewed fighting inflicted further damage on a population already burdened by years of conflict. Abiy emphasized that war fought for the interests of external adversaries is particularly destructive, leaving young people dead, physically injured or psychologically scarred while undermining the economic and social foundations of their communities.

The timing made the suffering even more acute. Tigray Region was facing drought when the renewed conflict disrupted movement and closed the airport, making it harder for the population to respond to the crisis and overcome its hardships.

The contrast between military expenditure and development was another central point in the Prime Minister’s remarks. While urban corridor development has advanced across Ethiopia, he said, Tigray Region had not seen even one kilometre of comparable corridor development.

He also criticized the use of resources that should have served people in need to procure weapons and drones instead of supporting reconstruction.

For PM Abiy, the failure to implement the Pretoria Agreement represents more than a breakdown in political commitments: it has kept the people of Tigray Region from the peace and development they need.

He said the population had already paid an immense price because of the illegal TPLF and should not be forced to endure another cycle of war.

His renewed call to armed youth was direct: lay down weapons, surrender peacefully and enter the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) process. Young people should return to civilian life and devote their energy to rebuilding their communities rather than sacrificing their futures in continued fighting.

The Prime Minister’s message was that the future of Tigray Region must be built through peace, reconstruction and productive work—not renewed hostilities that deepen the suffering of its people.