Officials and state media reported that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and other government officials met for the first time with Tigrayan leaders on Friday, following a peace agreement in November.
According to the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation, the two sides evaluated “actions carried out on the implementation of the Pretoria and Nairobi peace agreements so far” and discussed issues that “need further attention.”
According to the report, the meeting was held at a resort in southern Ethiopia.
In November of last year, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or TPLF, and the government of Abiy signed a peace agreement in the capital of South Africa, Pretoria. This put an end to the guns in northern Ethiopia.
In exchange for the restoration of access to Tigray, which was largely cut off from the outside world during the two-year war, the TPLF agreed to disarm and reestablish the authority of the federal government.
“Meeted today and held discussion with TPLF delegation regarding the progress of the peace process,” Redwan Hussein, Abiy’s national security adviser, wrote on Twitter.
He tweeted, “As a result, PM Abiy passed decisions about increasing flights, banking, and other issues that would increase civilian trust and make their lives easier.”
Aid deliveries to Tigray, which has long experienced severe shortages of food, fuel, cash, and medicines, have been limited since the agreement was signed.
The ravaged region of 6 million people is slowly regaining access to communications, banking, and electricity. Last month, Ethiopian Airlines resumed commercial flights between Addis Ababa and Mekele, the capital of Tigray.
Local residents and aid workers say that the Eritrean army and forces from the neighboring region of Amhara remain in parts of Tigray and accuse them of murder, rape, and looting despite the TPLF’s announcement that it has begun disarming.
It is impossible to independently verify the situation on the ground due to restricted access to Tigray.
Be the first to comment