TPLF warns of “silent Genocide” in Tigray

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has issued a statement warning of what it calls a “silent genocide” unfolding in the Tigray region, citing worsening humanitarian conditions nearly three years after the signing of the Pretoria peace agreement.

The statement follows the death of a one-year, four-month-old child, Naod Hailesselassie, who was killed by a hyena at an internally displaced persons (IDP) camp in Mekelle. According to the TPLF, the tragedy highlights the insecurity present in displacement camps and the extreme deprivation faced by thousands of displaced families across the region.

“Naod’s death is not an isolated tragedy but a symptom of a deliberate pattern of destruction,” the TPLF said.

On November 2, 2022, the federal government of Ethiopia and the TPLF signed a peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa, ending two years of devastating war that killed hundreds of thousands and displaced more than three million people. The agreement made civilian safety a central tenet, condemning sexual violence, the recruitment of child soldiers, and attacks on women, children, and the elderly.

The agreement also mandated unhindered humanitarian access and the safe return and reintegration of displaced people, linking these measures to the restoration of security and stability under the ceasefire.

However, nearly three years later, the TPLF accuses the Ethiopian government of failing to uphold its commitments. Most displaced families, it says, remain stranded in camps with deteriorating conditions.

“The inaction of the agreement’s guarantors—the U.S., EU, AU, and UN—who, despite repeated appeals and overwhelming evidence of atrocity, have allowed this silent genocide to unfold unchecked,” the statement read.

While the conflict in northern Ethiopia has receded from international media attention, violence continues to spread elsewhere in the country. In the Amhara region, the Fano militia alliance has been battling government forces since last year, while clashes between the Oromo Liberation Army and federal troops have been reported.

Human Rights Watch described the situation in Ethiopia as dire, reporting that “government forces, militias, and non-state armed groups [are] committing serious abuses in conflict-affected areas and elsewhere throughout the country.”