Government hints at military moves in Tigray
NAIROBI, Kenya — Ethiopia’s government on Wednesday said its military could reenter the capital of its embattled Tigray region within weeks, calling into question the unilateral ceasefire it declared in Tigray just days ago.
Ethiopia also asserted that soldiers from neighboring Eritrea, who had been collaborating with Ethiopian forces, had withdrawn from Tigray. That would be another major development in the nearly eightmonth war.
The Tigray forces that have retaken key areas after some of the war’s fiercest fighting have rejected a ceasefire.
There will be no negotiations with Ethiopia until communications, transport and other services that have been cut or destroyed for much of the war are restored, the Tigray forces’ spokesman, Getachew Reda said on Wednesday.
“We have to make sure that every inch of our territory is returned to us, the rightful owners,” Getachew said, adding that Ethiopian forces are still fighting to regain territory and Eritrean forces still control a “significant part” of the region.
That contrasted with Redwan’s comment, “The Eritrean army has withdrawn” from Tigray.
The situation in Tigray remained “extremely fluid,” the United Nations said, adding that Tigray forces now control the regional capital, Mekele, as well as Shire and the towns of Axum, Adwa and Adigrat.
One aid worker said their organization’s internal assessments showed that Eritrean forces had only pulled back to border areas.
The longtime president of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, has long been an enemy of Tigray’s leaders, who for years dominated key positions in Ethiopia’s government and military before being sidelined by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed. Witnesses have accused the Eritrean soldiers of some of the worst atrocities in the conflict.
“We will do anything in our power to make sure that Isaias will never be a threat again,” the Tigray forces’ spokesman said. Eritrea shares a long border with the Tigray region along which it and Ethiopia fought a war in 19982000.
With the current war likely to continue, the fate of more than 1 million Tigrayans in hardtoreach areas is in question as Ethiopia and authorities are accused of blocking access for the delivery of aid.
Seeking to explain this week’s dramatic retreat, Ethiopian Lt. Gen. Bacha Debele on Wednesday said the military had to move forces from Tigray to face “bigger threats” and referred to the border, but denied the possibility of a conflict with neighboring Sudan over disputed lands.
Some observers expressed concern that the warring sides wouldn’t use this new period to pursue a peaceful resolution in Tigray.