Tigray forces withdraw from neighboring Ethiopian regions – spokesperson

Newly recruited youth joining the Tigrayan forces march through the village of Nebelet, in northern Tigray, Ethiopia, July 11, 2021. REUTERS / Giulia Paravicini

NAIROBI, December 20 (Reuters) – Tigray forces fighting the central government have withdrawn from neighboring areas in northern Ethiopia, a Tigray spokesperson said on Monday, a step towards a possible ceasefire after gains major territorial units of the Ethiopian army.

The 13-month war in Africa’s second-most populous country destabilized an already fragile region, sent 60,000 refugees to Sudan, removed Ethiopian soldiers from war-torn Somalia and sucked armed forces from neighboring Eritrea .

“We have just completed the withdrawal of our forces from the Amhara and Afar regions,” said Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF), the political party controlling most of the country. northern Tigray region.

Writing on Twitter, Getachew added that the TPLF hoped the withdrawal would prompt the international community to pressure the governments of Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea, allies in the conflict, to cease military operations in Tigray.

TPLF chief Debretsion Gebremichael called for a no-fly zone for hostile planes over Tigray, arms embargoes against Ethiopia and Eritrea, and a UN mechanism to verify that the external armed forces have left Tigray – so many demands that the Ethiopian government is likely to oppose.

“We hope that our bold act of withdrawal will be a decisive opening for peace,” Debretsion wrote in a letter to the United Nations outlining the demands of the TPLF.

Ethiopian government spokeswoman Legesse Tulu and Prime Minister’s spokesperson Billene Seyoum did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Thousands of civilians have been killed as a result of the conflict, an estimated 400,000 face famine in Tigray and 9.4 million people are in need of food assistance in northern Ethiopia.

Debretsion said he hopes the withdrawal from Tigray will force the international community to ensure that food aid can enter Tigray. The United Nations has previously accused the government of operating a de facto blockade – an accusation denied by Addis Ababa.

RARE OPPORTUNITY FOR PEACE

The TPLF accuses Abiy of wanting to centralize power to the detriment of the Ethiopian regions. Abiy denies the accusation.

Abiy, whose 2018 appointment ended nearly three decades of TPLF rule over Ethiopia, said the TPLF wanted to cling to central power – which the Tigrayan leadership denies.

Will Davison, senior Ethiopia analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, said the TPLF letter represented an “important opportunity for peace talks”.

“There are reasons to believe that this rare opportunity could lead to a peace process and the cessation of hostilities,” he said.

A significant change in the Tigrayan position, he said, was the abandonment of their demand that hostile forces withdraw from West Tigray, a disputed area, as a prerequisite for peace talks, as well as a concession. that this could be done within the framework of a peace process supported by the international community.

STEPS OF TRUST

Any Tigrayan demand to keep its forces intact might be hard for the Ethiopian government to swallow, he said, but a gradual process might be possible. He added that other confidence-building measures may be underway, such as the federal government’s release of jailed political leaders.

The letter also endorses the use of international investigators to prosecute those responsible for war crimes.

Last week, the United Nations agreed to set up an independent inquiry into Ethiopia’s rights violations – a move strongly opposed by the Ethiopian government, which sees it as an assault on national sovereignty.

International mediators, including the African Union and the United States, have repeatedly attempted to negotiate a ceasefire to allow aid to enter Tigray, but both sides have refused until that certain conditions are met.

In June, the Ethiopian and Eritrean military withdrew from Tigray after reports of massacres of civilians, gang rapes and blockades of aid supplies. The government said it had pursued individual soldiers although it provided no details and denied the aid was blocked.

In July, Tigrayan forces invaded Afar and Amhara. The Ethiopian army launched an offensive at the end of November which pushed back the Tigrayan forces by hundreds of kilometers.

Reuters reporters traveling to liberated towns of Amhara saw signs of heavy fighting, and local residents reported abuses such as killings and rapes by Tigrayan fighters. The TPLF said any soldier found guilty would be punished.

Report from the Addis Ababa press room; Editing by Mark Heinrich

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