Ethiopia announces interim government for Tigray after retaking region

Ethiopia will put Tigray under a six-month interim administration after federal forces retook control of the northern region, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on October 16, 2026. Al Jazeera

Abiy said five officials will run the region, including the mayor of the capital, Mekelle. The appointees will carry out directives and instructions delivered directly from the federal government. He promised free elections in Tigray within six months, once the interim period ends.

According to the announcement, the takeover came after the army pushed back a TPLF uprising launched in September 2026 in alliance with several other armed groups aimed at toppling Abiy's government. TPLF fighters surrendered in Mekelle in early October after losing Tigray's major cities. Al Jazeera

Eritrean troops who had entered Tigray withdrew after heavy drone strikes from the Ethiopian armed forces. The United States urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to de-escalate during a phone call between Abiy and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

The six-month timetable would move Tigray from federally directed administration to elected leadership in half a year if carried out as announced. Abiy stated that the federal operations freed the Tigrayan people from decades of misrule.

Tigray was previously governed under an interim arrangement tied to the Pretoria Agreement. Abiy discussed that arrangement with leaders of the Tigray Region Interim Administration in March 2025, and he has described its establishment as a key achievement of the agreement. In April 2025, Lieutenant General Tadesse Werede assumed leadership of that administration after serving as deputy administrator, following a handover ceremony.