The Tigray forces have handed over heavy weapons to the military as a key part of the agreement signed with Ethiopia’s government late last year to end a two-year conflict.
The terms of a peace agreement signed on November 2, 2022 include disarming rebel forces, restoring federal authority in Tigray and reopening access and communications to the region, which has been cut off since mid-2021.
The fighting has ceased since November’s peace deal, with the rebels claiming to have disengaged 65 percent of their fighters from the front lines.
The conflict began in November 2020, less than a year after Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for making peace with Eritrea, which borders the Tigray region.
The conflict broke out following a massive fall-out between the regional and federal governments.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which controlled the region, of seizing military bases and launching an attempt to overthrow his government.
Abiy’s government has since declared the Tigray authorities, who ruled Ethiopia for nearly three decades before Abiy took office, a terrorist organization.
Tigrayan forces advanced towards the federal capital, Addis Ababa, in 2021, but were pushed back.
The International Crisis Group think tank and rights group, Amnesty International have described the conflict as “one of the deadliest in the world”.
The spokesman for Tigray forces in Ethiopia, Getachew Reda tweeted early Wednesday, January 11, 2023 that an African Union monitoring team confirmed the handover of weapons.
Getachew Reda expressed hope it would “go a long way in expediting the full implementation of the agreement.”
At the handover ceremony, Tigray Defence Forces (TDF) Representative, Mulugeta Gebrechristos opined that the start of the disarmament would play a major role in restoring peace.
“We are operating with the belief that if we are to have peace, all things that open the door for provocation must not be there. Peace is vital for us all.”
Mulugeta Gebrechristos
Aleme Tadesse, a representative of the Ethiopian army, reiterated that peace was the main objective.
“We are all [part of] one Ethiopia. Both us and the TDF have moved from our respective defensive positions in peace, understanding and love.”
Aleme Tadesse
The Tigray forces especially seek the withdrawal of troops from neighboring Eritrea, which has fought alongside Ethiopian forces but was not a party to the agreement.
A Step In The Right Direction
The African Union (AU) said the handover was “a step in the right direction” to end the two-year-long conflict.
Ethiopian military’s Lt-Col Aleme Tadele disclosed that armoured tanks, rockets and mortars were among the weapons transferred to the federal army.
The United States and United Nations, citing the work of academics, have estimated that hundreds of thousands of people died in the conflict in Africa’s second most populous country.
Also, the UN revealed that the war has displaced more than two million Ethiopians and left more than 13.6 million people dependent on humanitarian aid in northern Ethiopia,
Basic services, flights and humanitarian aid have begun to resume to the long cut-off Tigray region of more than five million people.
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