Nairobi, Kenya – After months of denial, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abi Ahmed this week acknowledged that Eritrean troops were fighting in Tigris, a war-torn northern Ethiopian region where the brutal conflict between pro-government and local militants has become a means of atrocities against civilians.
On Friday, under Mount American and international pressure, Mr. Abby took a step forward and announced that Eritrean troops had agreed to go home.
Mr Abia’s statement, issued after a meeting with Eritrean President Isaiah Afarki, offered a vague ray of hope amid a flurry of reports of widespread looting, massacres and sexual violence in Tigre.
However, it is not clear whether all Eritrean troops will leave Tigre or just the posts placed on the border and how fast they will go.
UN officials and human rights groups have blamed Eritrean troops for some of the most egregious violations – such as the infamous dictatorial leader of the secretive country, Mr. Isaiah, who denied that his troops were present in Tigris.
Mr Abia flew to meet Mr Isias on Thursday, a few days after an envoy sent by Mr Bibin pressed the Ethiopian leader to stop the massacre and strengthen the American call for the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops. The United States has publicly called for Eritrean. The troops will be withdrawn from Tigre.
On Friday, Eritrea’s information minister, Yamane Brascale, appeared to confirm Mr Abi’s announcement that an Eritrean army had agreed to withdraw. The public statements of both governments, “show full understanding and agreement on all the issues discussed,” Mr Abi said in a text message after leaving the Eritrean capital, Asmara.
Soon after Mr Abi launched a military campaign in Tigre, on November 4, Eritreans entered northern Ethiopia on the border, with rebel Tigrian leaders accusing him of attacking a key military base and trying to overthrow the federal government.
As the fighting gained momentum, reports of mass abuse of civilians from Tigre began to surface. Ethiopian soldiers, fellow fighters from our ethnic ethnic groups, and loyal fighters from the Tigre People’s Liberation Front faced charges.
But UN officials and human rights groups rallied Eritrean troops for the worst violations. Last week, Mr Abe spent five hours negotiating with US Senator Chris Queens, who was sent to Ethiopia by President Biden to deliver his alarm over the deteriorating situation.
In a briefing to reporters on Thursday, Mr Kuns said the talks were “clear” at some point, and Mr Abi reiterated his commitment to investigating human rights abuses in Tigre, including credible reports of sexual violence. War. “
Mr Kuns said, however, that Mr Abiya had fallen short in the face of such commitments in the past and that the United States wanted to maintain pressure. “It’s the actions that matter,” he said.
On Friday, a State Department spokesman welcomed Ethiopia’s announcement, calling it a “significant step” towards de-escalation.
In a sign that the Tigris were imposed to characterize the conflict, Ethiopian troops pulled civilians from a bus on a main road in Tigre and hanged four of them in front of doctors with border guards, the group said in a statement on Thursday. .
Eritrea and Ethiopia have been bitter enemies for most of the last three decades, and in the late 1990s they claimed thousands of lives. But they compromised in 2018, signing a landmark peace agreement soon after Mr Abiya came to power.
The agreement awarded Mr. Abi the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019 and helped Mr. Isaiah, one of the world’s most oppressive leaders, break out of international isolation. After the Tigre war broke out in November, critics said the two leaders were largely united by a shared animosity towards Tigre leaders.
It was not clear on Friday whether Mr Abi’s announcement signaled a possible success in ending the Tigre or fight by the two leaders under international pressure.
In his statement, Mr Abi said Eritrea had agreed to withdraw its forces “outside the Ethiopian border”, where immediately, effectively, Ethiopian troops were to carry out border security duties.
But it is not clear if this includes the Enda standing Eritrean army inside the Titre, where many of the worst atrocities have taken place.
Amnesty International has blamed the Eritrean army for killing hundreds of civilians in the northern city of Aix-en-Provence. Survivors of sexual violence from Tigris have accused Eritrean soldiers of horrific attacks.
A senior UN official told the Security Council on Thursday that more than 500 rape cases had been reported in five Tigre clinics, although the actual number was much higher.
The women say they have been raped by armed actors, they have told stories of gang rape, rape of family members, and men have been forced to rape their own family members for fear of violence, the official said. .
Exactly how many Eritrean troops are located inside Tigre and where is unclear. Much of the area is beyond the reach of support workers and journalists, and sporadic fighting continues in rural and mountainous areas.
However, the departure of all Eritrean troops would likely pose a serious military challenge to Mr Abi.
According to Western officials, the Ethiopian army was disbanded in the early days of the war, while hundreds and possibly more Ethiopian troops led the rebel side, Western officials said. Since then, Mr. Abi has regained control of Tigre’s swath with the help of his comrades – ethnic Amhara fighters and Eritrean soldiers.
Some analysts say that as the Eritreans left Mass, government forces may struggle to maintain their grip on parts of Tigre, which they now control.
