For much of its modern political history, Tigray was governed by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which originated as an armed movement in the 1970s opposing Ethiopia’s military dictatorship.
The group became a pivotal force in toppling the Marxist regime in 1991 and subsequently emerged as the dominant member of the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), the coalition that ruled the ethnically diverse nation for nearly three decades.
This dominance often sparked controversy, as critics argued the TPLF wielded disproportionate influence given that Tigrayans constitute roughly 6% of Ethiopia’s population.
When Abiy Ahmed assumed the premiership in 2018, he dissolved the EPRDF in favor of the new Prosperity Party, a move that drastically reduced the TPLF’s political leverage.
Tensions between the federal government in Addis Ababa and the TPLF escalated rapidly, culminating in the outbreak of war in 2020—a conflict that became one of the deadliest of the 21st century.
African Union mediators estimated the death toll at approximately 600,000. The fighting isolated Tigray from the outside world and pushed the region to the brink of famine.
An uneasy ceasefire was finally brokered in November 2022.
