Tigray: Hope Reborn After Disarmament Agreement

These agreements are producing significant results in many conflict zones. The Tigray forces (TDF) thus withdrew from several localities: Neblet, Maikinetal, Cherecher, Beri Teklay, Hugumburda, Zalambessa, and Abergele to appeal to the federal army forces (ENDF).

Just over a month after the end of hostilities in the Tigray region, fundamental steps towards peace have been taken. According to statements by General Tadesse Werede, Commander-in-Chief of the Tigray Defense Forces, 65% of his forces withdrew from many areas of conflict.

The general said that the recent disarmament meeting, held on December 1 in Shire, northwestern Tigray, has advanced the peace process, and that it was important that senior military officials of the two parties meet in Ethiopia.

“We have acted in a way that maintains the commitment to the agreement we signed. Observers and other control mechanisms mentioned in the agreement have not yet been included,” he added.

Mr. Tedesse also said that some troops remained on the front line, without specifying the locations, and that they would only be withdrawn when conditions were safe for the civilian population. The general urged federal army troops to work for the withdrawal of Eritrean and Amhara troops, saying none of them have left the war zone.

According to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's office, federal government authorities are already gradually providing humanitarian aid, medical assistance, and repatriation of displaced people.

Another milestone was the allocation of $33 million by the European Union to repair some 8,500 schools damaged during the war. EU Ambassador to Ethiopia Roland Kobia said the money would allow two million children to return to school and relaunch a school nutrition program.

However, uncertainties remain in the areas where Eritrean and Amhara troops are present: “The peace process has not yet guaranteed full and unrestricted access to the medical aid that the people of Tigray need.”

This was said by WHO's Mike Ryan about the failure of aid workers to reach militia-controlled areas in western Tigray, as well as other areas controlled by Eritrean forces.

In Tigray, the population is essentially Christian, and the war which now seems to be on the way out has been a real tragedy for the faithful and for their pastors. The region, landlocked and surrounded by armies, experienced a major humanitarian crisis that left many dead. It seems that this is now to be put in the past.

But concern persists because of the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray, who do not seem to want to leave Ethiopian territory. As for the Amharas, they come from an Ethiopian region bordering Tigray, located to the south.