Armed groups of a dissident faction of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) reportedly opened fire on civilians in the town of Adi Gudem near Mekele on Tuesday evening, resulting in civilian casualties. The faction led by Debretsion Gebremichael has seized the mayor’s office in Adi Gudem, with the town’s mayor, his deputy, and other cabinet members taken from their homes, sources have told the BBC. According to witnesses, several armed personnel have been stationed in the town since Tuesday. Around seven members of the local cabinet, including the mayor, have reportedly been detained.

There has been ongoing conflict between the TPLF’s hardline faction, led by Gebremichael Debretsion, the party’s chairman, and the supporters of Getachew Reda, currently head of the Tigray Interim regional administration and a close ally of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

“A misguided decision by a cabal of few army officers to take the law into their hands and dismantle state structures throughout Tigray the last few days has plunged the region into an uncharted territory, with civilians protesting these illegal moves being rounded up and shot at at random,” Getachew, who is currently in Addis Ababa, wrote on X. “The rampage is part of a harebrained plan to install an illegal faction of TPLF into the position of power, a move that flies full in the face of the aspirations of the people of Tigray and if the Pretoria Agreement.”

Getachew accused his rivals of collaborating with the Eritrean regime, which was involved in Tigray’s civil war and has strained ties with Ethiopia’s central government.

Eyewitnesses cited by the BBC reported that concerned residents had gathered near the mayor’s office in Adi Gudem after reports spread about the mayor’s arrest. It was then that gunmen opened fire to disperse the crowd. One of the injured, 30-year-old Mogos Kidan, stated that he is currently receiving treatment at Adi Gudem Hospital. Gebrehiwot Haile’s younger brother, Alem Hailem, was among four people injured in the shooting.

“Initially, they fired into the sky to disperse the crowd. Then, as the young men began to flee, they started shooting directly at them. Four people were injured, and my younger half-brother was the fourth,” his brother said.

Residents told the BBC that on Wednesday morning, there was still a heavy presence of armed forces in the town. Before dawn, the forces were seen patrolling homes, searching for and detaining individuals. Government offices were surrounded by the forces, and no public services were available, it was said.

Senior Tigray military commanders supporting Debretsion’s TPLF faction are reportedly seizing government offices across the region. They have taken control of the mayor’s office in the capital, Mekelle, as well as the administration office in Adigrat, Tigray’s second-largest town, appointing new administrators and ousting the officials loyal to the interim government. Additionally, they have taken control of the Mekelle FM radio station.

The interim administration, led by Getchew Reda, stated that the federal government has sufficient grounds to intervene and “provide necessary support.” Two days ago, Getachew Reda suspended four army commanders for allegedly attempting to dismantle the state structure. However, the Debretsion-led faction has not recognized this decision.