Ethiopia announces withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Tigray

Last updated on September 11th, 2021 at 08:00 am

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced last week that Eritrean troops would withdraw from Tigray, in the north of the country, just three days after he finally acknowledged their presence amid growing reports of genocide and sexual violence.

Ethiopia has confirmed that Eritrean troops fighting in the war-torn Tigrean region have “begun withdrawing” a day after the G7-led group called for an immediate withdrawal.

But residents of some towns and cities in Tigray have continued to report the presence of Eritrean troops in recent days, and the G7 said in a statement on Friday that their departure “should be immediate, unconditional.” unreliable ”.

Earlier, suspicions surfaced that Eritrean troops were fighting alongside Tigrean forces in support of Ethiopian troops. The region has witnessed countless massacres and rapes that have been condemned by the international community. Tigrean forces are now widely criticized for being part of the atrocities in the Tigrean region. At the time, the Ethiopian government announced that Eritrean troops were withdrawing from the region.

The statement also urged “a clear and inclusive political process acceptable to all Ethiopians, including those in Tigray that will lead to credible elections and a process of re-election.” comprehensive national reconciliation “.

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Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the departure but recall issued late Saturday said the foreign ministers of the G7 statement that qiraynin critical steps taken to address the needs of the region looga.

“Eritrean troops who crossed the border in anger with the TPLF have now begun to evacuate and the Ethiopian National Defense Forces have taken over the control of the national border,” a statement said.

There are growing reports of massacres, including massacres and rapes, in the war, and growing concerns about food shortages and lack of health care in Tigray, home to six million of them. Ethiopia has a population of more than 110 million.

The United States has described some of the abuses in Tigray as “ethnic cleansing”, which Ethiopian officials have dismissed as baseless.Officials in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, did not say how many were killed.

Last week, the United Nations and the Ethiopian human rights watchdog announced that they had agreed to a joint investigation into the abuses in Tigray, where fighting continues as government forces hunt down fighters loyal to the TPLF. a party that dominated national politics for decades before the rise of Abiy.