Dar es Salaam, March 13 -- ADDIS ABABA: The interim government of Ethiopias Tigray region appealed for the Ethiopian federal government to intervene after a faction of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front seized control of two major towns, leaving several people wounded and raising fears of a return to civil war.

On Tuesday the TPLF faction seized Adigrat, the second-biggest town in Tigray, and appointed a new administrator, ousting the office-holder loyal to the interim government. On Wednesday night, it took control of Adi-Gudem, a town near the regional capital, Mekele. Several people in Adi-Gudem suffered gunshot wounds when armed forces attempted to occupy a government building.

The TPLF fought a brutal two-year war against federal ...