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
← All stories
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

The war began on 4 November 2020, when the federal government launched military operations in Tigray after accusing the TPLF of attacking the Northern Command of the federal army. The TPLF disputes this account of events.

Phase one: the federal offensive

Federal forces, with support from Amhara regional forces and Eritrean troops, captured Mekelle by late November 2020. A communications blackout made independent reporting extremely difficult for months.

Phase two: reversal

In June 2021 Tigrayan forces retook Mekelle. Later that year they pushed into Amhara and Afar before withdrawing in December 2021. Tigray remained under a severe blockade of food, fuel, banking and telecommunications.

Phase three: truce, war, settlement

A humanitarian truce in March 2022 broke down in August 2022. After renewed heavy fighting, the parties signed the Pretoria agreement on 2 November 2022, followed by a military implementation deal in Nairobi.

The human cost

The war displaced millions. Estimates of deaths vary widely; figures as high as around 600,000 have been cited, including deaths from famine and lack of medical care. Investigators documented atrocities, including mass killings and sexual violence, attributed to several armed groups.

Sources