Ethiopia: Tigray Forces Announce Withdrawal From strategic areas

MEKELLE, Ethiopia - The Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has withdrawn from strategic areas, a move geared towards paving room for the resettlement of the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), who are victims of a two-year war that was resolved in 2022.

Interim leader of Tigray region Getachew Reda announced on social media that Tigrayan forces have begun withdrawing from the villages of Garjale and Baqlo_Manaqia near Alamata. This move follows the understanding reached with the Ethiopian federal government and the Amhara administration, he said.

The decision to withdraw, he added, complied with the Pretoria and Nairobi peace accords which guided the ceasefire in northern Ethiopia. The government of Ethiopia and Tigray authorities are working on the implementation of the agreement, closely monitored by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.

"The Tigray Interim Administration has decided to pull Tigrayan Forces out of Garjale and BaqloManaqia villages near Alamata to honor its understanding with the federal government and Amhara administration to make it easier for Tigrayan IDPs to return as part of the implementation of the Pretoria Agreement," he said.

"Similar moves to return more Tigrayan IDPs are in the pipeline," added Reda, who previously served as the minister of Information and Communication in the government of Ethiopia before the nasty breakup of the former ruling coalition which paved the way for the formation of the Prosperity Party.

President Getachew emphasized that the decision prioritizes the safe return of Tigrayan internally displaced persons (IDPs) to their homes, aligning with the implementation of the Pretoria Peace Agreement. He also hinted at further actions to facilitate a larger-scale return of displaced Tigrayans.

Stability is gradually returning to the Horn of Africa nation but internal wrangles are routinely making it difficult for the government to stabilize the country. Interestingly, Ethiopia is currently at loggerheads with Somalia z a neighboring state that accuses it of occupation.

Ethiopia signed an agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland, a deal if implemented, that would see the country getting 20 kilometers of the Red Sea for construction of the military base and port in return for recognition of Somaliland as a sovereign state. Somalia has termed the move as a 'blatant violation and aggression on our sovereignty".

GAROWE ONLINE