Ethiopia forms Tigray caretaker government as fighter registration resumes

Ethiopia has set up a caretaker government in Tigray while former fighters seek to return to civilian life. The Washington Post, WGAU Radio, WREG and AP News headlines report the government’s formation and the former fighters’ stated aim. The available account gives no further details about the caretaker government’s composition or its work.

Registration for a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program resumed in Mekelle on Oct. 15, 2026. The program is part of the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement and is overseen by Ethiopia’s National Rehabilitation Commission, according to the account published by ClickOrlando. It describes former Tigrayan fighters as seeking to return to civilian life.

Filmon Gebreselassie said the TPLF called former fighters to rejoin their former comrades and units, and that doing so was considered mandatory. His account describes pressure to return to former units, while the program offers a route toward civilian life. The article does not provide further information about how fighters are selected or what participation involves.

The article also says renewed fighting has effectively shattered the Pretoria agreement. It does not identify the parties to that fighting, describe specific incidents, or give casualty figures.

The account therefore links the resumption of registration to a peace process it says has been undermined, without detailing the renewed fighting or attributing particular actions to specific forces. In a statement posted on its official Facebook page on Oct.

14, the TPLF called Tigrayans collaborating with the federal government “traitors” and said they would face “accountability and public judgment.” Those are the TPLF’s stated words; the report does not specify how such accountability would be carried out or identify particular individuals the statement concerned.

The registration program remains the concrete mechanism described for former fighters seeking civilian life. The account identifies the National Rehabilitation Commission as its overseer and the Pretoria agreement as its framework. It supplies no figures for registrations or program participation, and does not describe further steps by the caretaker government.