One of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front’s nine executive committee members, Keria Ibrahim, has surrendered.

The TPLF Top official had served as speaker of the House of Federation, Ethiopia’s upper parliamentary chamber. The BBC reports that she resigned from her position in June after accusing Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of running a “dictatorial regime” and violating the constitution, when Ethiopia cancelled its August election due to the coronavirus pandemic. She subsequently retreated to Mekelle. The TPLF, meanwhile, held its local elections In September, angering the Ethiopian federal government.

Ethiopia’s PM had accused TPLF leaders of treason after alleging that its fighters had attacked a federal government military base, a claim the TPLF has denied.

The Ethiopian Defense Force took control of Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region,  last Friday, after a 4 week offensive on the region, but most of the TPLF leaders remain at large. The Ethiopian government claims that it is aware of their whereabouts, saying it would act if they did not surrender peacefully. Federal government authorities on Sunday launched a hunt for the leaders of the TPLF, who fled Mekelle on Saturday. Some had supposedly fled into Sudan, and South Sudan, while others are reportedly hiding in the mountains. The Sudanese authorities have promised to cooperate with Addis Ababa in preventing TPLF fighters from hiding in Sudan.

TPLF chairperson, Debretsion Gebremicael, reportedly on Monday said that his organization is embarking on a guerrilla war. This is despite the TPLF, having lost control of much of the region, following Abiy’s military offensive in Tigray since November4.

Umm Muhammed Umar