BREAKING | Ethiopia, TPLF reach secret deal to restore electricity, banking services in Tigray region  

ADDIS ABABA – Ethiopian government and the rebellious Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have reportedly reached a secret agreement to restore electricity; banking and phone services in the northern Tigray region, several officials belonging to both parties of the Ethiopian conflict have told Sudans Post.

The agreement, one official in Addis Ababa said on condition of anonymity, was reached following several weeks of exchange of letters between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s office and the leader of TPLF Debretsion Gebremichael coordinated by former Nigerian President and AU envoy for Horn of African Olusegun Obasanjo.

“One of the conditions which have been put forth by the Tigray juntas is for the central government in Addis Ababa to restore services such as electricity, phone services, and banking so that Tigray residents are able to receive money from families in diaspora,” the official said.

“It is on this basis that the central government has decided to concede and agreed to restore these services within a period not exceeding two months and in this period, the central government will send engineers to renovate what has been destroyed by the war in Tigray including in the capital Mekelle,” the official added.

Separately, a TPLF official in Nebraska said peace talks between the government and the rebel groups begun in Nairobi in January and resume in April after the rebel group decided to compromise the demand for self-determination and restore recognition of Abiy Ahmed’s government.

“The talks started in January this year. The TPLF sent a delegation to Kenyan in December 2021, but the government did not send its delegation until January and when the TPLF put forth the demand for self-determination, the talks collapsed and it was started again in April 2022,” the official said.

“So, with the intervention of Nigeria and Uganda, the parties have now agreed to restore most important services like electricity, phone and banking services within a period of a few weeks and the TPLF has also agreed to recognize the legitimacy of the government of Ethiopia in Addis Ababa,” the official added.