اضافة اعلان
NAIROBI — The commander-in-chief of the
Tigray rebel forces has said that 65 percent of his forces have “disengaged”, a
month after a ceasefire agreement over Ethiopia’s war-torn northern region.
The withdrawal and disarmament of Tigray’s forces is
a key provision of the agreement signed early last month in South Africa to end
the two-year conflict.
“We have started disengagement and relocation of our
forces from battlelines ... out of our forces, 65 percent of them have passed
through this process, disengaging from battlelines, and moved to designated
places,” Gen. Tadesse Worede, chief of staff of Tigray’s fighters, told
reporters on Saturday.
He did not specify the battlelines he was talking
about or how far fighters had been withdrawn.
AFP was not able to independently verify the claims
as Tigray remains inaccessible to journalists.
Tigray’s
authorities had been resisting central rule for months when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused their leadership of attacking federal army camps
and sent troops into the region in 2020.
The conflict between the Tigray People’s Liberation
Front (TPLF) and pro-Abiy forces — which include regional militias and the
Eritrean army — has caused an untold number of deaths, forced more than 2
million people from their homes and driven hundreds of thousands to the brink
of famine.
The two parties signed a peace deal in South Africa
on November 2 that agreed to a cessation of hostilities and unfettered aid into
Tigray, as well as the disarming of TPLF fighters and re-establishment of
federal authority over Tigray.
But Tadesse said there were still “forces in the
areas that don’t want peace”, apparently referring to Eritrean soldiers and
other regional Ethiopian militia.
His troops would not “100 percent” disengage until
the threat was reduced, he added.
The ceasefire makes no mention of the presence on
Ethiopian soil or any possible withdrawal of Eritrean troops, who have backed
Abiy’s forces and been accused of atrocities.
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