The peace agreement signed in Pretoria on November 2 provides in particular a disarmament of the rebel forces and the restoration of the federal authority in the tiger.
Mo12345lemonde with AFP
Tigrean rebels began to make their weapons heavy, a key point of the agreement signed more than two months ago to put an end to a deadly conflict in northern Ethiopia, said a Wednesday January 11 spokesperson for rebel authorities.
“The Tiger has given its heavy weapons in the context of its commitment to implementing the Pretoria agreement”, signed on November 2 between the Ethiopian government and the Tigrean rebels, said in a tweet Getachew Reda. “We hope and plan that this will greatly help to accelerate the complete implementation of the agreement. We hope and plan!”, He continued.
The peace agreement provides in particular a disarmament of the rebel forces, the restoration of the federal authority in the tiger and the reopening of access and communications to this region cut off from the world since mid-2021.
According to a document relating to the implementation of the agreement signed on November 12 in Nairobi, “the disarmament of the heavy weapons [tigrant] will be will be simultaneously with the withdrawal of foreign and non -federal forces”, in reference in particular to Eritrea, a border country of the Tiger, which supports the Ethiopian army in the region. Asmara did not participate in Pretoria negotiations.
“guarantee the safety of institutions”
A delegation of the Ethiopian government, in the presence in particular of the Councilor of the Prime Minister for National Security Redwan Hussein as well as several ministers (justice, transport and communications, industry, work), went on December 26 to Makalé, capital from the Tiger region, for a first official visit for more than two years, marking a major step in the peace process.
A few days later, on December 29, the Ethiopian federal police entered Makalé, a first for eighteen months, in particular to “guarantee the safety of institutions”.
The fights had started in November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the army to arrest the leaders of the tiger who have been contested with his authority for months and that he accused of having attacked federal military bases.
The precise assessment of this conflict punctuated by abuses, which took place largely in camera, is unknown. The Crisis Group International Center for International Reflection and the NGO Amnesty International described it as “one of the deadliest in the world”. Since the Pretoria agreement, the fighting has stopped. The rebels claimed to have “disengaged” 65 % of their fighters from front lines. 2> “atrocities”
But they denounce “atrocities” committed by the Eritrean army and the forces of the Ethiopian region of Amhara, which supported the federal army in the conflict. Tigernes authorities, as well as humanitarian inhabitants and workers who testified to AFP, accuse them of looting, rapes, executions and kidnapping of civilians.
Access to the tiger being restricted, it is impossible to independently check the situation on the ground, in particular the presence of the Eritrean forces. On the humanitarian level, despite an amplification of operations, the food and medical aid routed remains much lower than the enormous needs.
Makalé was connected to the national electrical network on December 6. The CBE, the main bank of the country, announced on December 19 the resumption of its operations in certain cities, and telephone communications with the region began to be restored.
The war has moved more than two million Ethiopians and plunged from hundreds of thousands of people in conditions close to famine, according to the UN. Still according to the UN, the two years of war have rendered more than 13.6 million people dependent on humanitarian aid in northern Ethiopia (5.4 million in the Tiger, 7 million in Amhara and 1 , 2 million in Afar).