An Ethiopian government delegation traveled to the capital of the rebel region of Tigray on Monday (December 26th) for its first official visit in more than two years, marking a major milestone in the peace process launched in November after a deadly conflict.
“There were nearly 300,000 dead”: finally peace between Ethiopia and Tigray, after two years of bloodshed?
This group of high-ranking officials came “supervise the application of the main points of the peace agreement” signed on November 2 in Pretoria between the dissident authorities of Tigray and the federal government, explained the government communication service.
Led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives Tagesse Chafo, the delegation notably included Prime Minister National Security Advisor Redwan Hussein as well as several ministers (Justice, Transport and Communications, Industry, Labour).
The director general of the authority in charge of roads and the CEOs of Ethiopian Airlines, Ethio Telecom and Commercial Bank of Ethiopia, key players in the restoration of basic services of which Tigray has been deprived for more than a year, were also travel.
“An important step”
This visit is, according to the federal government, “proof that the peace agreement is on the right track and progressing”.
“It’s a great chapter”welcomed Tagesse Chafo: “In the discussions we had, the reception we received and the times we spent together, there is great hope”.
Ethiopia: for the war to end soon
Tigrayan authorities’ spokesman Getachew Reda praised on Twitter “an important step”with some “fruitful talks” and “an important understanding”.
The government officials and business leaders arrived in Mekele on Monday morning and left in the late afternoon, Getachew Reda told AFP. “But technical teams stay here”he specified.
One of the “deadliest conflicts in the world”
Government and Tigrayan rebels signed an agreement on November 2 ending the war that ravaged northern Ethiopia for two years.
This text provides in particular for the disarmament of rebel forces, the restoration of federal authority in Tigray and the reopening of access and communications to this region cut off from the world since mid-2021.
GRANDSTAND. Letter to Abiy Ahmed, Prime Minister of Ethiopia and Nobel Peace Prize
The fighting began in November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the army to arrest Tigray leaders who had challenged his authority for months and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases.
The precise toll of this conflict punctuated by abuses, which took place largely behind closed doors, is unknown. The International Crisis Group think tank and the NGO Amnesty International have described it as “one of the deadliest in the world”.
“We don’t want half peace”
Since the Pretoria agreement, the fighting has stopped. The rebels claimed to have “disengaged” 65% of their fighters from the front lines.
But they denounce “atrocities” committed by the Eritrean army and the forces of Ethiopia’s Amhara region, which supported the federal army in the conflict. The Tigrayan authorities, as well as residents and aid workers who testified to AFP, accuse them of looting, rape, executions and kidnappings of civilians.
“We don’t want a half-peace, where half (of Tigray) would be at peace and the other half killed, massacred and invaded”the head of the Tigrayan government Debretsion Gebremichael said on Monday.
As access to Tigray is restricted, it is impossible to independently verify the situation on the ground.
13.6 million people dependent on humanitarian aid
On the humanitarian level, despite an increase in operations, the food and medical aid delivered remains far below the enormous needs.
The war has displaced more than two million Ethiopians and plunged hundreds of thousands into near-famine conditions, according to the UN.
According to the UN, the two years of war have made more than 13.6 million people dependent on humanitarian aid in northern Ethiopia (5.4 million in Tigray, 7 million in Amhara and 1.2 million in Afar).
