Tigrayan forces handover weapons but no confirmation of withdrawal of "foreign" troops

ADDIS ABABA - Despite the decision by the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] to hand over sophisticated weapons to the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF], no official confirmation has been made over the withdrawal of foreign soldiers from the troubled region of Ethiopia.

On Wednesday, the African Union appointed Monitoring, Verification, and Compliance Mission [MVCM] team to confirm the launch of the disarmament process of Tigrayan combatants as Tigrayan forces handed over heavy weapons to the Ethiopian National Defense Forces.

The move was in compliance with the “Disarmament of Tigray armed combatants,” as envisaged in the agreement signed in Nairobi and Pretoria following days of talks between the government of Ethiopia and TPLF which stated that “disarmament of heavy weapons will be done concurrently with the withdrawal of foreign and non-ENDF forces from the region.”

Sadly, the evaluation team was yet to confirm the withdrawal of the foreign troops [those from Eritrea] and the Amhara regional militia who have been fighting alongside ENDF in Tigray for the last two years. There are concerns that continued engagements of the troops in the region would probably jeopardize the implementation of the peace deal.

But speaking during the press conference, a representative from the AU MVCM said, “we have seen handing over and taking over military hardware by both the Tigray defense force and the Ethiopian national defense force” regional broadcaster Tigray Television reported.

Videos making rounds on social media showed Tigrayans handing over heavy weaponry to representatives from the Ethiopian government at Agulae which is situated about 30 kilometers north of Mekelle, the regional administrative capital of Tigray, which has also been under siege for months.

Among the weapons handed over included tanks, armored vehicles, heavy mortars, guns, anti-tank guns, Urals, and rocket-loaded cars which were handed over to the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] contingent. Representatives from both parties witnessed the ceremony.

Lieutenant Colonel Aleme Tadesse, a representative of the Ethiopian army, said during the joint press briefing, that the disarmament began according to the peace agreement signed between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan authorities in Pretoria on 02 November.

“We have disengaged from our front lines, Tigrayan forces have also done the same…now we have come to Agulae this day where the heavy weapons are collected, we have received the weapons from Tigray defense force in the presence of AU observers,” he said.

Getachew Reda, the spokesperson of TPLF and member of the central command tweeted saying that Tigray has handed over its heavy weapon as part of its commitment to implementing the Pretoria agreement and that the AU MVCM confirmed it.

“We hope and expect this will go long way in expanding the full implementation of the agreement” he added.

Both parties are under pressure to implement the peace agreement clauses signed in Nairobi and Pretoria but they are concerned that the continued involvement of Eritrean troops and Amhara regional militia in Tigray could scuttle the process. Relative peace has resumed in the region after a two-year-old worthless war.

GAROWE ONLINE