Adyabo Times

Political reporting and analysis on Tigray, past and present, written from Adyabo and for Tigrayans everywhere.

Peace Process

Pretoria’s Broken Promise: Why Tigray’s Peace Failed Its People

The Pretoria Agreement failed to deliver lasting peace because its promises lacked strong enforcement, displaced Tigrayans remained unable to return home, and justice remained incomplete. Tigrayan leaders deserve scrutiny for accepting inadequate safeguards and allowing political divisions to undermine recovery. The African Union must answer for ineffective monitoring, while Western partners should explain why diplomatic and economic cooperation advanced without sufficient accountability. Allegations of deliberate betrayal or favoritism remain unproven; the clearest failure is the continued suffering of civilians.

Adyabo Times·5 Oct 2026·5 min read
Current Situation

The Price Paid to Hold a Country Together

Tigray played a pivotal role in defeating Ethiopia’s dictatorship in 1991 and shaping the federal system that followed. Although the EPRDF’s rule deserves scrutiny, its failures cannot justify collective blame against Tigrayans. The subsequent war inflicted documented mass killings, sexual violence, starvation, and displacement on civilians, creating a profound betrayal of the promise of shared citizenship. Ethiopia’s unity must rest on equal protection, historical truth, and accountability—not on any community’s suffering or silence.

Adyabo Times·5 Oct 2026·4 min read
Current Situation

Back to the brink: what we know about the fighting that began on 22 September

Months of rising tension between Mekelle and Addis Ababa turned into open fighting across Tigray, Afar and Amhara. Here is what has been reported so far.

Adyabo Times·4 Oct 2026·1 min read
Peace Process

From Pretoria to collapse: how the 2022 peace deal unravelled

The agreement that ended the last war left the hardest questions for later. Four years on, those questions brought the parties back to conflict.

Adyabo Times·3 Oct 2026·1 min read
History

The 2020–2022 war: a timeline

Two years of fighting reshaped Tigray. A short guide to how it began, how it spread, and how it stopped.

Adyabo Times·1 Oct 2026·1 min read
Western Tigray

Western Tigray: Ethnic Cleansing, Historical Belonging and the Right to Return

Ethinic cleansing happening in western Tigray, Western Tigray has longstanding historical ties to Tigray that predate Ethiopia’s modern federal system. Haile Selassie’s imperial reorganisation placed western territories under Begemder/Gondar, while punitive boundary changes following the 1943 Woyane rebellion detached southern territories from Tigray. These changes challenge claims that the areas have always been Amhara land. During the war beginning in 2020, human rights organisations documented ethnic cleansing, forced displacement and pillage against Tigrayans in Western Tigray. The Pretoria agreement did not settle the territorial question; lasting peace requires recognition of history, accountability and the safe return of displaced communities.

Adyabo Times·28 Sept 2026·2 min read
History

Fifty years of the TPLF: from armed struggle to a fractured party

Founded in 1975, the TPLF went from guerrilla movement to the centre of national power, and then to open conflict with Addis Ababa.

Adyabo Times·24 Sept 2026·1 min read
Adyabo

Tigray Under Renewed Attack: Civilians Need Protection, Truth, and Accountability

We are collecting first-hand accounts of the war years and the present crisis from people in and from Adyabo.

Adyabo Times·20 Sept 2026·2 min read
Opinion

Editor's note: why Adyabo Times exists

Opinion. A space for Tigrayan voices to explain their own history and argue about their own future.

Adyabo Times·18 Sept 2026·2 min read
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Current Situation

Back to the brink: what we know about the fighting that began on 22 September

Months of rising tension between Mekelle and Addis Ababa turned into open fighting across Tigray, Afar and Amhara. Here is what has been reported so far.

Adyabo Times·4 Oct 2026·1 min read
This is a developing story based on reporting available up to early October 2026. Claims about who started the fighting come from the parties themselves and have not been independently verified.

Heavy fighting broke out on 22 September between the Ethiopian National Defence Force and forces aligned with the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF). Clashes were reported inside Tigray and in the neighbouring Afar and Amhara regions, following weeks of skirmishes and airstrikes since August, including strikes in Mekelle.

Tigrayan forces were reported to have taken control of airports in the region, and Ethiopian Airlines suspended flights to Tigray.

What each side says

The federal government, through adviser Getachew Reda, accused Tigrayan forces of launching a full offensive against government positions. TPLF authorities describe their actions as defensive and say federal troops attacked first. Days earlier, the TPLF announced an alliance with six other armed and political groups aimed at removing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and forming a transitional government.

International reaction

The African Union Commission chair called for immediate de-escalation and a return to talks. The US ambassador in Addis Ababa criticised the TPLF's decision to go on the offensive. Human Rights Watch warned that civilians face serious risk given both sides' record of abuses in the last war and the lack of accountability since.

Why it matters for Adyabo

Communities in north-western Tigray lived through the 2020 to 2022 war and are still recovering. Displacement, fuel shortages and cuts to budget transfers hit rural areas first. We will report on conditions in Adyabo as information becomes available.

Sources