To: Diplomatic Missions and International Partners

From: The Tigray People’s Liberation Front

Date: 1 February 2026

Subject: “A Hollow Peace”: The Use of a Peace Narrative to Legitimize Ongoing Coercion and Crimes Against the People of Tigray

The Federal Government has repeatedly declared the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) “dead and void,” asserting that Tigray must submit to unilateral federal decrees. In response, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has consistently stated—to the Government, the Ethiopian public, and the international community—that the core provisions of the CoHA remain unimplemented and that meaningful political dialogue between the signatories is indispensable for Tigray’s lawful and sustainable reintegration into the federation.

These appeals have been met with indifference. Instead of implementing the Agreement, federal authorities have intensified the siege on Tigray through an economic blockade, restrictions on movement, goods and services, and the unlawful withholding of constitutionally mandated budgetary allocations. Consequently, the humanitarian, economic, and security situation has deteriorated sharply, while the Government’s rhetoric and posture increasingly signal a return to war rather than a commitment to peace.

Yet peace can still be salvaged. The international community must urgently re-engage to uphold the CoHA and prevent another catastrophic conflict with regional repercussions. The people of Tigray are entitled not to a hollow peace used as a tool of coercion, but to a genuine peace grounded in justice, accountability, rehabilitation, and reconstruction.

1. Systematic Abrogation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement and Escalation Toward Renewed Conflict

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has repeatedly and in good faith urged the international community to exert sustained pressure on the Federal Government of Ethiopia to uphold the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA)—the sole internationally recognized framework for restoring constitutional order, protecting civilians, and preventing a return to war.

Despite this, senior federal officials, including the Prime Minister, have publicly declared that the CoHA has “exhausted its purpose” and signaled their intention to address the Tigray issue unilaterally through domestic directives. Such statements and actions amount to a clear repudiation of both the letter and spirit of the Agreement endorsed by the African Union and supported by international partners.

This repudiation has been accompanied by escalating coercive measures. In Tselemti, internally displaced persons were encouraged to return under federal assurances of safety, only to face harassment, arbitrary detention, and extrajudicial killings, forcing many into renewed displacement. The wider civilian population has also been subjected to systematic abuses, including cultural and linguistic repression, notably the destruction of Tigrinya educational materials and the imposition of Amharic-only instruction.

Efforts by limited contingents of the Tigray Security Forces to de-escalate tensions through dialogue with Ethiopian National Defense Force commanders were met with force, resulting in avoidable casualties and brief skirmishes. Rather than pursue de-escalation, the Federal Government imposed sweeping punitive measures on civilians, including the suspension of air transport, deliberate cash shortages, and additional restrictions that amount to collective punishment and deepen already severe economic and service deprivations.

Most alarmingly, credible reports indicate the use of drone strikes against civilian vehicles, intensified aerial surveillance, and deliberate destabilization of border areas through government-sponsored armed groups. Together with indications of nationwide military mobilization, these actions point to a calculated escalation toward renewed large-scale conflict—one that would not be confined to Tigray but would reverberate across the Horn of Africa with grave humanitarian and security consequences.

Taken together, these measures reflect a systematic pattern of deprivation, isolation, and coercion directed against the people of Tigray, reinforcing serious concerns about the continued use of suffering as a tool of political control.

In light of the rapidly deteriorating situation, the international community must act with urgency and unity. Immediate and coordinated diplomatic pressure is required to halt war mobilization, end hostile actions, and compel full compliance with the CoHA. While belated, the African Union’s statement of 30 January 2026 is welcome; it must now be translated into concrete, enforceable action. Only genuine, good-faith political dialogue between the signatories, facilitated by the AU High-Level Panel, can avert a deepening humanitarian catastrophe and safeguard peace and constitutional order in Ethiopia and the wider region.

2. An Unabated Nightmare for Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)

For internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Tigray, the call for an immediate, safe, and dignified return has remained constant. Yet their suffering continues unabated. Living conditions in displacement sites have steadily deteriorated, leading to preventable illnesses and avoidable deaths—realities well known to both the Federal Government and the international community. At the same time, humanitarian assistance has sharply declined, pushing already traumatized communities into deeper distress.

Recent social media documentation from camps such as Hitsats—one of more than a hundred IDP sites across Tigray—has drawn renewed public attention to this crisis. Images and testimonies prompted spontaneous acts of solidarity by Ethiopians. Instead of addressing the humanitarian emergency, however, the Federal Government and its affiliated media launched a campaign of disinformation and intimidation, threatening activists with punitive measures despite the absence of any legal prohibition on assisting fellow citizens. This response starkly contrasts with the Government’s own appeals for public support during the Borena drought in Oromia, underscoring a deliberate effort to discourage solidarity with Tigrayan IDPs as part of a broader punitive policy.

The Government’s continued refusal to implement the Pretoria Agreement has effectively condemned displaced communities to yet another year in subhuman conditions. In parallel, diversionary initiatives—carried out through collaborators aligned with this punitive agenda—have sought to mislead the international community. The prolonged displacement has thus become a tool of coercion, aimed at exhausting, weakening, and collectively punishing the Tigrayan population, in direct violation of Article 5(3) of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA).

More recently, Government-orchestrated initiatives involving former members of the Tigray Interim Regional Administration—while excluding all legitimate Tigrayan institutions, including the TPLF—have further aggravated the crisis. These initiatives lack both credibility and legitimacy and alarmingly propose returning IDPs to areas still controlled by forces responsible for their displacement and abuse. Such plans make a mockery of the principle of safe and dignified return, exposing civilians to renewed danger without security guarantees or humanitarian integrity. They therefore constitute yet another grave breach of both the letter and spirit of the CoHA.

 

3. The Imperative of Restoring Constitutionally Recognized Territories

The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) is unequivocal in its core objective: the full restoration of constitutional order. Accordingly, all constitutionally recognized territories of the Tigray region must be immediately and unconditionally restored. This obligation is binding on the Federal Government under both the CoHA and the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia. Yet, through sustained non-compliance, the Government has refused to implement this central provision. Instead, it has relied on collaborators who fled Tigray to advance efforts aimed at permanently severing Western Tigray and parts of Northwestern Tigray from the region—an explicit repudiation of both the letter and spirit of the Agreement.

Over an extended period, the Federal Government has trained, armed, and deployed thousands of militia members, commonly known as the Tekeze Zeb (Tekeze Guard), with the apparent purpose of generating insecurity and obstructing the return of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other Tigrayans to Western Tigray. Similar mobilizations are evident in Tselemti, Sekota, and parts of the Afar region, where armed groups are being equipped and positioned to destabilize Tigray. These forces serve no legitimate security function; rather, they operate as instruments of coercion and as potential staging grounds for renewed hostilities.

Such actions—now escalating into drone attacks, aerial surveillance, and overt threats of large-scale violence—constitute grave breaches of the CoHA and dangerously propel the situation toward another catastrophic war with regional consequences. The continued denial of Tigray’s constitutionally recognized territories violates not only the Agreement but also the Constitution itself, which provides clear and binding mechanisms for resolving territorial disputes. Article 10(4) of the CoHA explicitly requires that such disputes be settled “in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia,” a requirement the Federal Government has willfully disregarded.

The restoration of Tigray’s territories is indispensable to its full reintegration into the Ethiopian federation and a prerequisite for implementing Article 9(2) of the CoHA, which guarantees Tigray’s representation in federal institutions. Continued failure to meet these obligations risks further erosion of constitutionalism, the rule of law, and national stability. By contrast, adherence to constitutional procedures offers the only viable pathway toward durable peace, reconciliation, and regional stability.

In this context, the immediate restoration of Tigray’s constitutionally recognized territories is not a matter of political discretion but a constitutional imperative. The supremacy of the Constitution cannot be displaced by unilateral actions, coercive boundary reconfigurations, or faits accomplis imposed by force. Any attempt to bypass constitutional mechanisms entrenches lawlessness, legitimizes coercion, and accelerates authoritarian rule.

4. TPLF’s Enduring Commitment to Peace, Dialogue, and Constitutional Order

Despite a deteriorating security, humanitarian, and political environment, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has consistently upheld its commitment to peace, dialogue, and constitutional order. At every stage, it has called for genuine and inclusive political dialogue with the Federal Government to resolve outstanding issues and to fully implement the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA).

These calls have been repeatedly dismissed. Senior federal officials have questioned the relevance of the Agreement and demanded unilateral compliance by Tigray, thereby undermining trust and the foundations of sustainable peace.

Nevertheless, the TPLF remains firmly convinced that lasting peace can only be achieved through the faithful and comprehensive implementation of the CoHA. It has therefore continued to appeal to the African Union, the AU High-Level Panel, the United Nations, and international partners to prevent a return to catastrophic war.

In line with this commitment, the TPLF has exercised maximum restraint despite repeated provocations and severe humanitarian pressures on the people of Tigray, including prolonged isolation, economic blockade, and aerial attacks. Both the people of Tigray and the TPLF have demonstrated a clear preference for peace over renewed conflict.

At this critical juncture, the TPLF and the people of Tigray seek nothing more than the full implementation of an Agreement that was solemnly signed, internationally witnessed, and regionally guaranteed. The TPLF reaffirms its commitment to a peaceful, negotiated resolution and urges the international community to act decisively to ensure compliance with the CoHA, protect civilians, and preserve the prospect of a just and durable peace.

5. An Urgent and Renewed Call for International Action

The current trajectory demands immediate, serious, and coordinated international response. The Federal Government’s arbitrary drone strikes, sustained aerial surveillance, and deliberate efforts to further isolate Tigray pose a grave threat to the already fragile peace. Most alarmingly, the ongoing large-scale mobilization of federal forces toward renewed war against the people of Tigray risks inflicting irreparable damage not only on the peace process but on the stability of Ethiopia and the wider Horn of Africa.

If left unaddressed, these developments threaten to push the country—and the region—back toward a catastrophic conflict marked by mass atrocities and profound humanitarian devastation. The Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) was expressly designed to halt this dangerous descent. It remains the only viable framework to avert renewed catastrophe and must be afforded the opportunity to be implemented fully, faithfully, and without obstruction.

In view of the rapidly darkening horizon, we call upon all international partners, guarantors, and stakeholders to meet their responsibilities with urgency and resolve by taking the following actions:

  • Reaffirm unequivocally the binding nature of the CoHA and insist on its full, immediate, and good-faith implementation by all parties.
  • Convene, without further delay, the long-overdue review meeting of the African Union High-Level Panel, as mandated under the Agreement.
  • Initiate substantive and inclusive political dialogue aimed at resolving all outstanding political and constitutional issues in a sustainable manner.
  • Ensure the safe, dignified, and timely return of all internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes, in line with international standards.
  • Restore Tigray’s constitutionally recognized territories promptly and without precondition, as required by the CoHA.
  • Condemn and take concrete measures against preparations for renewed war, including large-scale military mobilization, arbitrary drone strikes, and persistent drone surveillance over Tigrayan civilian areas.
  • Immediately lift the unlawful air-travel ban and all restrictions on freedom of movement.
  • Restore full, predictable, and unimpeded delivery of fuel and other essential supplies to Tigray.
  • End the financial strangulation of the region by restoring normal banking operations, replenishing cash liquidity, and releasing all constitutionally mandated budgetary allocations without political obstruction.

The people of Tigray have endured suffering on a scale that defies easy description—through war, displacement, deprivation, and prolonged isolation. Further delay will only deepen this tragedy and foreclose the narrowing window for peace. This is a moment that calls not for expressions of concern, but for decisive and principled action.

The cost of inaction will be measured not only in lost lives and shattered communities, but in the destabilization of an entire region. The time to act is now.