According to UMD Media sources close to the TPLF Politburo, TPLF chairman Debretsion Gebremichael told a Politburo meeting on Tuesday that he had contacted the U.S. ambassador to Ethiopia, Ervin Massinga, to question what he described as Washington’s silence following an attack in the Shererina area on August 1, 2026.
In his report to the meeting, Debretsion said he asked the ambassador why the United States had "kept quiet" while Tigray was being attacked. According to the account provided to UMD Media, the ambassador responded by placing responsibility for the escalation on the TPLF leadership, pointing in particular to its recent public rhetoric and its approach to diplomatic efforts.
"You are the one who started the attack," the ambassador was quoted as telling Debretsion. "You are the one who said you would not stop short of burying the government. You are the one who defied and undermined diplomacy."
The reported exchange comes against the backdrop of increasingly confrontational rhetoric at recent TPLF public forums held under the theme "Never to National Destruction," where senior officials including Debretsion Gebremichael and TPLF secretariat head Fetlework Gebregziabher have discussed the political and security situation facing Tigray and the future of relations with the federal government.
Among the rhetoric drawing particular attention has been repeated reference to "burying" the Prosperity Party (PP) government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
A U.S. Embassy source separately confirmed to UMD Media that an exchange between the ambassador and Debretsion took place. According to the source, the ambassador also told Debretsion that the United States was aware of tanks and artillery that had recently entered Tigray from Eritrea and warned that the TPLF could not continue to misrepresent developments on the ground.
The alleged remarks suggest growing frustration in Washington with the TPLF leadership at a time of renewed military tensions and competing accusations over responsibility for escalation.
The controversy over the TPLF’s "burial" rhetoric continued two days later.
On August 13, TPLF spokesperson Mikiele Asgedom, speaking to the TPLF-affiliated broadcaster Dimtsi Weyane, said that "burying the PP regime" remained a necessity. He made the statement while discussing the possibility of restoring Tigray’s territories peacefully.
According to Mikiele, even if Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed were to agree to the peaceful restoration of Tigray’s pre-November 2020 territories, the objective of "burying" the PP government would remain.
The statement appears to reinforce the language reportedly raised by the U.S. ambassador in his conversation with Debretsion and underscores the widening tension between the TPLF’s stated willingness to pursue diplomatic solutions on territorial issues and its increasingly confrontational public rhetoric.
Neither the U.S. Embassy nor the TPLF has publicly released an official transcript of the reported conversation between Debretsion and the ambassador.
Originally published on UMD Media Facebook on 2026-08-16T09:00:00-06:00. Source: https://www.facebook.com/getachew.UMDMedia