Ethiopia sets up Tigray caretaker government as ex-fighters seek return to civilian life

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopia's government set up a six-month caretaker administration for Tigray following renewed fighting in the region, as hundreds of former combatants registered Friday for a program to help them return to civilian life.

The new administration is expected to restore public services, help displaced people return and prepare for an election within six months under federal oversight, according to the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

The announcement follows the withdrawal of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front rebel group, or TPLF, from Mekelle and the entry of government-allied fighters into the regional capital on Oct. 4.

Renewed fighting in the northern region in recent weeks has effectively shattered a 2022 peace agreement that ended a devastating two-year war. Ethiopia also has accused Eritrean troops of occupying parts of its territory, while Eritrea condemned Ethiopia for what it called a declaration of war.

At Mekelle’s Tigray Martyrs’ Memorial Monument, former fighters lined up to register with the authorities, some carrying papers or sheltering under umbrellas. Registration began Wednesday. Authorities declined to say how many former fighters had signed up.

“We were called upon by the TPLF to rejoin our former comrades and units, and doing so was even considered mandatory,” said Filmon Gebreselassie, a 33-year-old day laborer. “However, I did not want to return (to war). I decided instead to focus on raising my children.”

He said that he had disarmed after the 2022 peace agreement in Tigray, but had been unable to register before the reintegration program was suspended as new tensions rose.

Other former fighters were also signing up because they didn't want to fight again, he said.

Many young men at the registration office declined interviews, citing fear of retaliation from the TPLF.

In an Oct. 14 statement on its official Facebook page, the TPLF denounced Tigrayans collaborating with the federal government as “traitors” and said they would face “accountability and public judgment.”

Human Rights Watch reported in June that Tigrayan authorities then in charge of Mekelle had ordered former fighters back to their units in a compulsory recruitment campaign. A TPLF spokesperson said those defending the region were volunteers, according to the watchdog.

The disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former Tigrayan fighters is part of the 2022 peace agreement.

Abiy’s office accused the TPLF of obstructing the agreement and said that the latest fighting ended in its defeat. The rebels urged their forces to continue fighting and called on Tigrayans to support them.

Magnus Taylor, deputy Horn of Africa director at the International Crisis Group, cautioned against equating the loss of towns with an end to fighting.

“We shouldn’t imagine that this conflict is completely over just because the TPLF has lost Mekelle,” he told The Associated Press on Wednesday.

Capturing towns and roads would hamper Tigrayan fighters without necessarily securing the vast rural areas where the rebel forces regrouped during the previous war, Taylor said.

Ethiopia also has accused Eritrean troops of occupying its territory, an allegation that the AP couldn't independently verify. Eritrea described Ethiopia’s assertion that it was taking self-defense measures as a declaration of war.

Taylor warned that the proximity of the countries’ forces increased the risk of a wider conflict. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio urged de-escalation in a call with Abiy on Wednesday, according to the U.S. State Department.

Amir Aman Kiyaro in Hamburg, Germany, Filmon Equar Hailu in Mekelle, Ethiopia, and Desmond Tiro in Nairobi, Kenya, contributed to this report.

In this photo made with a smartphone, former Tigrayan fighters, some carrying documents, line up to register for a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. The program has resumed after being suspended amid rising tensions between the Tigray People's Liberation Front and the federal government. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)

In this photo made with a smartphone, former Tigrayan fighters walk past people waiting under umbrellas as they line up for a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. The program is intended to help former combatants return to civilian life. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)

In this photo made with a smartphone, former Tigrayan fighters line up to register for a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. The resumed registration comes as Ethiopia's government establishes a six-month caretaker administration for Tigray following renewed fighting. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)

In this photo made with a smartphone, former Tigrayan fighters wait in line to register for a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. Registration has resumed following renewed fighting in the northern Ethiopian region. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)

In this photo made with a smartphone, former Tigrayan fighters line up for a disarmament, demobilization and reintegration program in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2026. The program, overseen by Ethiopia's National Rehabilitation Commission, is part of the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement, which renewed fighting has effectively shattered. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)

In this photo taken with a smartphone, supporters and soldiers participate in a procession welcoming former Tigray leader Getachew Reda in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Filmon Equar Hailu)

Stocks fell on Wall Street Friday as another pullback in big technology companies weighed on the market.

The S&P 500 was down 1.1% as of 2:01 p.m. Eastern time and on track for a weekly loss. The benchmark index is pulling back from the all-time high it set last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 257 points, or 0.5%.

The Nasdaq composite was down 2.1% and headed for its first weekly loss in five weeks. Weakness for AI stocks has been a major drag on the tech-heavy index this week.

Technology companies were the biggest drag on the broader market. Micron Technology fell 4.1%, Advanced Micro Devices dropped 5.1%, Broadcom was down 3.6% and Intel lost 4.7%. The declines in heavyweight tech stocks outweighed losses in most other parts of the market, and slightly more U.S. stocks were rising than falling within the S&P 500.

It’s been a choppy week for chipmakers and other big tech stocks central to the artificial intelligence industry. Investors are now worried that the companies, which have relied on debt markets to finance an investment spree into their technology, may not be able to keep borrowing and spending as heavily with yields in bond markets worldwide recently climbing to their highest levels in years.

Netflix’s stock fell 3% a day after the company announced that Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria will be replaced by Peter Rice. The news comes just days after Netflix said that it plans to lay off about 6% of its workforce, amounting to nearly 1,000 positions.

Big banks and other financial companies gained ground. JPMorgan rose 0.9%, Citigroup gained 0.5% and Wells Fargo was up 0.7%.

European markets were broadly higher and Asian markets rose.

In the bond market, Treasury yields held relatively steady. The yield on the 10-year Treasury was at 5.10%. It had topped 5.30% earlier this month and touched its highest level since 2002 because of worries about high inflation, signals of a strong U.S. economy and other factors.

Yields are down despite reports this week showing that inflation at the consumer and wholesale level rose more in the U.S. than economists expected.

The reports could persuade the inflation-fighters at the Federal Reserve to hike their key interest rate before the end of this year. The central bank increased its key interest rate by a quarter-point to about 3.9% in September, its first increase in three years.

Wall Street traders expect the Fed will keep its short-term rate unchanged at policy meeting this month, but the odds of a rate increase at the December meeting have jumped to 74.3% from 50.2% a month ago, according to data from the CME Group.

On Friday, Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh offered no fresh signals about potential interest rate policy moves by the Fed while attending a meeting of financial leaders in Bangkok.

Elsewhere in the market, shares in Tesla fell 2.5% after the electric vehicle company unveiled a new model of its Roadster sports car that can thrust itself up in the air.

Alcoa jumped 3% after reporting quarterly results that topped Wall Street estimates.

Expectations are high for growth in profits from all kinds of companies this reporting season, which began in earnest this week. That’s what’s allowed U.S. stocks to set records despite high inflation and the many other worries weighing on Wall Street.

In energy markets, oil prices remained elevated as the global oil supply continues to be under pressure without a deal between the U.S. and Iran to end the Iran war.

Brent crude, the international standard, was up 3.1% at $109.21 per barrel. That is up from around $72 a barrel in late February before the start of the war. Brent climbed into triple digits last month, the first time since July.

The national average for gasoline is at $4.33 a gallon on Friday, according to AAA. While that’s lower than the $4.37 a gallon that it averaged last month, it’s sharply higher than the $3.06 a gallon from a year ago.

Oil remains well-supported as uncertainties surrounding the situation in the Middle East and concerns over oil flows in the Strait of Hormuz had the market “pricing in a significant risk premium,” ING commodities strategists Warren Patterson and Ewa Manthey wrote in a commentary Friday.

Specialist Dilip Patel works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)

A man uses his mobile phone to take photos of the electronic screen displaying Indonesia Composite Index at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

People walk past an electronic screen displaying stock prices at the Indonesia Stock Exchange in Jakarta, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Tatan Syuflana)

A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

A screen shows the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI), the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won, SK Hynix and Samsung Electronics Co. stock prices at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work near a screen showing the Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) and the foreign exchange rate between U.S. dollar and South Korean won at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Currency traders work at the foreign exchange dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 16, 2026. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)