The elections are just the latest example of how Tigrayan officials are increasingly acting like leaders of an independent state. It has also reached out to Saudi Arabia offering to take in Ethiopian migrants it accuses Abiy of abandoning there. Mounting discordTigray's governing party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), led the armed struggle to topple the brutal communist Derg regime in 1991. Tigrayan leaders rejected the extension of political mandates - which would have expired in October - contending Abiy will have no legitimacy after that. Secession questionTPLF leaders have so far refrained from advocating that Tigray secede from Ethiopia, saying they are committed to trying to keep the country together.

Source: Ethiopian News September 08, 2020 10:30 UTC