Old video does not show Tigray politician declaring new war against Ethiopian government

The text accompanying the post, written in Amharic, reads: “Message from Tigray to the Amhara people: A call to unite and stand together against the tyrannical regime. Dr. Debretsion has urged for an alliance, emphasising that ‘it is impossible to bring the people of the North to their knees’ (sic).”  

“North” in this context refers to Ethiopia’s Amhara and Tigray regions. 

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Screenshot of the false post, taken on August 7, 2025 

The post’s text further claims Debretsion said: “Starting today, we have completed our preparations to launch a joint operation together with our Eritrean and Tigrayan brothers against the oppressive regime, in a coordinated effort to establish a government of the people.” 

“Oppressive regime” in this case means the government of Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. 

The post was published on Facebook on July 31, 2025, and has been shared more than 120 times. 

The post also includes a video in which Debretsion speaks about Tigray’s armed forces. 

“The Tigray forces emerged in response to a tyrannical regime,” he says, adding: “They were established not out of false narratives or for financial gain, but to resist the tragic oppression and systemic suppression faced by the Tigrayan people.” 

Fragile peace deal 

Ethiopia is currently grappling with ongoing conflicts in its two most populous regions: Oromia and Amhara (archived here). 

The Tigray region endured a brutal civil war between 2020 and 2022, in which Ethiopian federal forces — backed by the Eritrean military and local militias — fought against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (archived here).

The conflict resulted in the deaths of an estimated 600,000 people, with all sides accused of committing atrocities. 

Although a peace agreement was signed in Pretoria, South Africa, in November 2022, its implementation remains incomplete. After the peace deal, then-Tigray regional government leader Debretsion was replaced by Getachew Reda, who was sacked in April 2025 following disagreement between rival Tigray factions (archived here).

Getachew was succeeded by Tadesse Werede.

Relations between longtime foes Ethiopia and Eritrea have also deteriorated, despite their alliance during the Tigray conflict. Animosities resurfaced in October 2023 following Abiy’s renewed push for access to the Red Sea. Both governments have since accused each other of preparing for war (archived here). 

However, the video does not show Debretsion announcing a renewed alliance to wage war against the Ethiopian government. 

Old video

AFP Fact Check used the video verification tool InVID-WeVerify to conduct reverse image searches on keyframes from the video of Debretsion speaking. 

The results revealed that a longer version of the video was originally published more than three years ago, in October 2021 (archived here). 

The original video, published on the official YouTube page of state-owned broadcaster Tigrai TV, is over nine minutes long and titled in Amharic: “Dr. Debretsion Gebremichael Press Conference on Current Affairs.”

In the original video, Debretsion begins by stating: “In this press conference, I want to clarify that the war in the Afar and Amhara regions is coming to an end.”

He goes on to describe how Tigrayan forces had engaged in intense battles with federal forces across multiple locations in both regions. During the speech, he refers to Abiy’s administration as a “fascist regime”.

At the time -- in early October 2021 -- Tigrayan forces had pushed into the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions and temporarily captured key towns (archived here). 

The false Facebook clip is taken from the original video, specifically from the 1’43”-3’03” mark. 

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Screenshots of the original video (left) and the false clip, taken on August 8, 2025 

At no point — either in the original video or in the false clip circulating on Facebook — did Debretsion call on forces in Amhara and Tigray to ally against the federal regime, nor did he announce a new war involving Eritrean forces.