New Facts: Ethiopian Officials Warn of New Tigray Offensive

Ethiopia’s intelligence chief Redwan Hussein and East Africa affairs minister Getachew Reda warned that hardline elements of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front are mobilizing to launch an offensive against the federal government in the coming days. They said the planned operation would target Ethiopian army bases in the north and would be mounted with help from Eritrea. They called for international pressure to avert a relapse into war.

The officials alleged that meetings are underway between Eritrean representatives and TPLF members in Asmara, Mekelle and Sudan. They also accused the TPLF of dismantling the federally backed interim administration in Tigray and reinstating its own regional parliament, which they argued breaches the 2022 peace deal.

Separately, a draft proclamation circulating in Tigray outlines compulsory military service for all able-bodied men and women and severe penalties for evasion, leaking information, or activity deemed to aid enemies or undermine recruitment. The text provides for fines and imprisonment and, in wartime, penalties up to life imprisonment or the death penalty for specified offenses.

AI-synthesized from multiple reported sources