After two years of war, and the end of the world, Ethiopia is calling for a democratic solution to the crisis in the region Adis Ababa
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia — Now that two of the warring parties in Ethiopia have signed a landmark peace deal, the world is watching to see if it will truly mean the end of one of the world’s deadliest conflicts.
The negotiators and foreign officials emphasized that more needed to be done to reach a lasting political settlement despite their praise of the deal. “This moment is not the end of the peace process, but the beginning of it,” said AU special envoy and former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, who led the mediation efforts.
“It is now for all of us to honor this agreement,” said the lead negotiator for Ethiopia’s government, Redwan Hussein. Lead Tigray Negotiator Getachew Reda stated that the concessions have been made.
Forces from Ethiopia’s neighboring Amhara region also have been fighting Tigray ones, but Amhara representatives are not part of the peace talks. “Amharas cannot be expected to abide by any outcome of a negotiations process from which they think they are excluded,” said Tewodrose Tirfe, chairman of the Amhara Association of America.
Eritrean forces have been blamed for some of the conflict’s worst abuses, including gang-rapes, and witnesses have described killings and lootings by Eritrean forces even during the peace talks. On Wednesday, a humanitarian source said several women in the town of Adwa reported being raped by Eritrean soldiers, and some were badly wounded. The source spoke on the condition that he be spared repercussions.
United Nations officials have concluded Ethiopia’s federal government has used starvation as a weapon of war by restricting aid access to Tigray, where 5.2 million people need aid. Thousands of people are thought to have died from lack of medical supplies.
The Tigray War: Ending the War in Northern Ethiopia With a Victory and Bringing Peace and Development to the Nearby Eritrea
At an online event on Wednesday, a surgeon from the region’s flagship hospital told health experts they were back to 18th century surgery. It is like an open-air prison.
A humanitarian source said their organization could resume operations almost immediately if unfettered aid access to Tigray is granted. “It entirely depends on what the government agrees to … The source who spoke on condition of anonymity said that if they were given access, they could start moving quickly.
The fighting in Tigray which began after Tigrayan forces attempted to break a military blockade of their region continued into Afar and Amhara regions after months of lull.
The prime minster of Ethiopia said in his speech before the peace talks’ announcement that they need to duplicate the success that they had on the battlefield. We are finalizing the war in northern Ethiopia with a victory … we will now bring peace and development.”
The Tigray conflict began in November of 2020, less than one year after Ethiopia’s prime minister made peace with the neighboring country of Eritrea, which borders the Tigray region.
The federal government and the TPLF, Tigray’s ruling party, began to build tensions after the outbreak of the war.
The TPLF once dominated Ethiopia’s politics, at the helm of a coalition that ruled with an iron first for 27 years, but was ousted by protests in 2018.
These tensions came to a head when Abiy postponed elections scheduled for August 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The federal funding was suspended when the TPLF went ahead with its own vote.
Ethiopian federal troops and their Eritrean allies captured Tigray’s major towns and roads in the early days of the war, but they were pushed out of the region in June 2021 in the face of a guerrilla campaign from the TPLF.
An uneasy truce in place since March had brought a pause to the fighting, but hostilities erupted again in late August, with federal forces making significant gains last month by capturing a string of towns in Tigray.
The war has been fought over a long period of time. Information is hard to come by in war zones because internet and phone lines are down and international media access is tightly monitored.
Yet the conflict has mobilized vast numbers of troops, with the amount of combatants fighting on the eve of the peace deal estimated to be between 500,000 and 1 million combined. The conflict in Yemen is currently the biggest conflict in the world, according to a Western diplomat.
TPLF Commanders Meet in Nairobi: Plans for Disarmament and Demobilization of Tigray Forces and the Delivery of Humanitarian Aid
The TPLF agreed to disarm and demobilize its large armed force while the federal government agreed to assume control of its roads and airports. A group of 55 member states brokered the deal which will be monitored by a team of experts.
western Tigray is an issue. The region was occupied by Amhara forces in the early days of the conflict and remains under their control. Amhara politicians insist the land is rightfully theirs, but Tigray’s leadership has previously demanded its return.
That statement noted that representatives of Ethiopian and Tigrayan militaries meeting in Kenya discussed “detailed plans for disarmament” of Tigray forces, including an agreement on the entry of Ethiopian forces into the Tigrayan capital of Mekele.
The commanders, who since Monday have been meeting in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, signed an agreement Saturday that they said calls for disengagement from all forms of military activities.
Both parties have agreed to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the region of more than 5 million people, according to a copy of the agreement seen by The Associated Press.
Humanitarian aid should have resumed, said Olusegun Obasanjo, who is helping to facilitate the talks. The commanders were thanked for their dedication to peace by the former president.
Two years ago, the war in Africa’s second-most populous country began and has resulted in millions of people being displaced and near famine.
Tigray remains barred by journalists and researchers despite ongoing investigations of the country’s alleged anti-government activity in the 1980s and 1990s
Foreign journalists and researchers are still barred from Tigray, which is complicating efforts to verify reports of ongoing violence in the region.