Ethiopian Tigray demands withdrawal of troops ahead of ceasefire talks

The rebel leaders of the Ethiopian region of Tigray have agreed “in principle” to a ceasefire with the Ethiopian federal government but have set strict conditions for it to be formalized.

The conditions include the complete withdrawal of troops from the region of Eritrean forces as well as fighters from the neighboring Ethiopian region of Amhara, who have supported the Ethiopian army during the eight months of conflict.

They also called for the restoration of their ousted Tigray government.

The conditions were set out on Sunday in a statement signed by “the government of Tigray”.

The Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF), the regional authority ousted last November by Ethiopian and Eritrean forces, returned a week ago to the region’s capital, Mekele, to crowd applause.

Their return was followed by a unilateral declaration of a ceasefire by the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. But TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda called such a move a joke.

“Foolproof guarantees”

In Sunday’s statement, released by Getachew, the TPLF said it would agree to a ceasefire in principle if there were rock-solid guarantees of no further invasion, but a series of others. conditions would have to be met before an agreement could be formalized.

“The invading forces of Amhara and Eritrea must withdraw from Tigray and return to their pre-war territories,” the statement said.

Other conditions are humanitarian, including the distribution of aid in the region, the safe return to Tigray of displaced persons and the full provision of essential services such as electricity, telecommunications, banking, health care. health and education.

He also demanded the immediate release of all political leaders of the Tigrayan ethnicity and members of the national defense forces who are being held in the country’s prisons.

The statement said the United Nations should establish an independent body to investigate war crimes and an international body to oversee the implementation of any ceasefire agreement.

There was no immediate comment from the prime minister’s spokesperson and the chairman of the government task force set up to coordinate the security operation in Tigray.

But the federal government refused to open any dialogue with the leaders of the TPLF, calling the group a terrorist organization by parliamentary decree.

In the face of famine

The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s central government for decades before Abiy came to power in 2018. His government has been fighting the TPLF since late last year after accusing it of attacking military bases in Tigray.

Thousands have been killed.
According to the UN, more than 400,000 people in Tigray “have crossed the threshold of famine” and 1.8 million people are on the brink of famine.

(with press wires)