Debretsion Gebremichael, the deposed president and fugitive from the Ethiopian region of Tigray, spent his youth in the Tigray People s Liberation Front (TPLF), before rising through the ranks once the party was installed at the helm in Addis Ababa.
On Friday, the Ethiopian army promised a reward of 10 million birrs (about $250,000) to anyone who could locate the leadership of the TPLF, including Mr. Debretsion, who has been on the run since federal troops took the regional capital Mekele on November 28 and has been unreachable for nearly two weeks.
Debretsion - whose date of birth is unknown - was born in the town of Shire, Tigray, to a Christian Orthodox family. He abandoned his studies in the 1970s to join the TPLF, then spearheading the armed struggle against Hailemariam Mengistu s military-Marxist Derg regime (1974-1991).
By AFP - Agence France Presse December 18, 2020 Print Article
Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of the Tigray People s Liberation Front, is believed to have retreated into the mountains EDUARDO SOTERAS Text size
Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of Ethiopia s dissident Tigray region before he was ousted in a federal military offensive, once ran a guerrilla radio station before rising through the ranks to head the Tigray People s Liberation Front (TPLF).
It has been nearly two weeks since Debretsion a top target of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed s campaign against the TPLF leadership has issued any kind of statement.
After three weeks of fierce fighting, Abiy claimed victory in late November and said federal forces had Debretsion and other TPLF leaders in their sights but he remains on the run.