July 31,2025
Addis Ababa, (AMECO)— Targeted US visa restrictions against TPLF hardliners reflect growing international alarm over the uncompromising stance taken by senior party figures, including Debretsion Gebremichael, Fetlework Gebregziabher and army commander Migbey Haile. Western powers, having observed how the 2020 war devastated human lives and wiped out billions of dollars in infrastructure, have urged the front to engage with mediation. However, the TPLF’s refusal to budge has forced a sharp diplomatic turn in Washington.
As the TPLF constructs an armed coalition with anti-government groups to challenge prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s elected administration, the United States has moved to penalise figures responsible for destabilising the Horn of Africa. The TPLF responded by condemning the measures as ‘one-sided’.
‘They thought they were the cherished child of Washington, but US foreign policy doesn’t work that way,’ said Dr Aregawi Berhe, co-founder of the TPLF who later turned sharp critic of its leadership, noting that Washington’s historically supportive stance during the TPLF’s 27-year reign in federal power has come to an end.
‘For the US, relationships must remain beneficial; when an actor stops being useful, they are set aside. The TPLF completely misread Washington’s stance,’ Dr Aregawi explained. ‘The US has its own strategic interests in this region and wanted a reliable ally to fight regional terrorism, which built that early relationship. However, because the TPLF is fundamentally a terrorist organisation from within, those democratic objectives were never met. I don’t think [sanctions] will stop there, because the TPLF hardliners will not abandon their aggressive stance.’
The diplomatic measures follow the unravelling of the 2022 Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement. TPLF hardliners have rejected inclusive power-sharing under Article 10.1 of the accord, replacing the interim administration in Mekelle after an unconstitutional party congress to evade accountability for past hostilities. To supply their renewed military effort aimed at removing the federal government by force, the leadership has instituted severe internal conscription laws across Tigray—threatening citizens with up to 25 years’ imprisonment or execution for refusing service—while actively seeking external alliances to pressure Addis Ababa.
