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Eritrean forces are leaving towns in the war-torn Tigray region, a local resident told AFP.
Fighting between federal forces and Tigre rebels erupted in northern Ethiopia in November 2020 and raged for two years until the two sides signed a peace deal in the South African capital of Pretoria on November 2, 2022.
Under the agreement, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) will disarm and reestablish federal authority in return for the Ethiopian government to restore access to war-torn areas in desperate need of food and aid. agreed to do
However, the Pretoria Accords did not provide for the withdrawal of Eritrean forces, which have been accused by the US and human rights groups of fighting on the side of the federal government and committing the worst human rights abuses in the bloody conflict.
Departing convoy
On the ground in Tigray, locals told AFP that Eritrean army convoys were leaving the towns of Shire and Adwa, but some soldiers remained.
“We saw Eritrean forces leaving the Shire heading northeast.
Another local resident admitted seeing a convoy of trucks, buses, tanks and artillery leaving town.
However, he said some Eritrean soldiers were still “walking around the streets and markets” on Saturday.
“People want to know if the Eritrean army will really withdraw,” an Adwa resident told AFP on Saturday. “There were already announcements that the Eritrean soldiers had left, but they only returned later from another direction.”
Due to the restricted access to Tigray, it is impossible to independently check the situation on the ground.
The withdrawal has not yet been confirmed by the signatories of the peace accord or by observers of the accord.
Unknown number of casualties
The war broke out in November 2020 when the TPLF, which had been in power in Ethiopia until the rise of Abiy, attacked Ethiopian federal military installations in Tigray.
Abiy, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for his rapprochement with Eritrea, launched a major offensive against the TPLF, which was marching into the capital Addis Ababa.
Eritrea, which borders Tigray, sent troops to assist Ethiopian forces at the start of the conflict.
Addis Ababa and Asmara denied Eritrean involvement in the conflict for months, but Abiy later acknowledged their presence in March 2021.
The withdrawal of Eritrean forces has been announced several times, but never confirmed.
The exact casualties of the nearly ended war remain unknown. The International Crisis Group think tank and Amnesty International called it “one of the deadliest in the world”.
Conflict has displaced more than two million people and millions more are in need of humanitarian assistance.
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