Senior TPLF Central Committee and Politburo Members Including Party Secretariat Deputy Head Reportedly Break with Leadership, Remain in Mekelle and Environs

October 4, 2026

Sources who spoke with UMD Media said that a number of TPLF Central Committee members, including at least four current or former Politburo members, have broken with the party leadership and remained behind in Mekelle and surrounding areas.

Among those named by the sources are four members of the TPLF Politburo: Liya Kassa, Deputy Head of the TPLF Secretariat and head of organizational and mobilization affairs; Teklay Gebremedhin, Head of Water and Energy; Fisseha Haftetsion (PhD), Head of Land Management and tasked with leading the party’s reform efforts; and Solomon Kidane (PhD). According to party sources, Solomon Kidane resigned from his Politburo position on September 4, 2026.

None of the four are veterans of the TPLF’s 17-year armed struggle. Fisseha Haftetsion was also a member of the Tigray delegation that participated in the negotiations leading to the Pretoria Agreement.

Sources further told UMD Media that several other Central Committee members, including officials serving at deputy bureau-head level, have also distanced themselves from the current leadership.

According to the sources, some of those who remained behind have cited what they describe as the leadership’s subordination to Shabia, Eritrea’s ruling party, accusing senior figures of prioritizing the preservation of their own power and privileges and seeking to evade accountability.

UMD Media has not independently verified all of the reported defections or the motivations attributed to the individuals concerned.