Warring Ethiopian sides ‘committed to new truce’

Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces who signed a ceasefire agreement in Pretoria earlier this month say they are committed to the peace process.

Disarmament was scheduled to start on Tuesday.

Representatives from the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been meeting in Nairobi since Monday to reach agreement on various aspects related to the implementation of the peace pact signed.

Saturday’s declaration is expected to boost efforts by the African Union mediators to resolve a two-year conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions in the Horn of Africa country.

It will facilitate unhindered humanitarian access, provide security guarantees to aid workers, ensure the protection of civilians and establish a joint committee to oversee implementation, mediators said.

The deal will be put into effect “immediately“, mediator Olusegun Obasanjo said.

Both sides said the roadmap was the only way to restore peace and stability.

“We will fully dedicate ourselves to implementing the Pretoria agreement and this declaration,” said Birhanu Jula, a senior Ethiopian military official and one of the government representatives at the talks.

Ethiopian military officials and TPLF had reached an agreement on the disarmament of TPLF fighters and entry of the Ethiopian military into the Tigrayan capital of Mekele, the federal government said.

The role of Eritrea, which has not participated in the talks, remains concerning, analysts say. Its troops fought in the conflict on the side of the Ethiopian army.

“Disarmament of heavy weapons will be done with the withdrawal of foreign and NONENDF

(federal military) forces from the region,” the declaration signed on Saturday said, without specifically naming any foreign forces. Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Meskel did not respond to a request for comment.

One of TPLF’S representatives, General Tadesse Werede, said the declaration on implementation had given them hope that the suffering of the people in Tigray would end. —