April 25, 20222:21 PM EDT
A destroyed tank is seen in a field in the aftermath of fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Force (ENDF) and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) forces in Kasagita town, in Afar region, Ethiopia, February 25, 2022. REUTERS/Tiksa Negeri/File Photo
NAIROBI, April 25 (Reuters) – Rebellious Tigrayan forces are completely withdrawing from the neighbouring region of Afar in Ethiopia, a spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces told Reuters on Monday, saying he hoped it meant that desperately needed food aid could finally pour into famine-hit Tigray.
“Our forces have left all of Afar,” Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters on Monday.Report ad
Reuters could not immediately independently confirm Getachew’s statement.
Afar’s police commissioner Ahmed Harif said Tigrayan forces had withdrawn from the town of Abala but were still in three of the region’s districts.
He said the forces were also in control of the highway between Abala and Tigray’s capital Mekelle, and that he was in touch with local officials and militias who were keeping him updated.Report ad
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu could not be reached for comment.
Fighting in northern Ethiopia, which began in November 2020 in the Tigray region and spilled over into Afar last year, has eased since the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire last month, saying it would allow humanitarian aid to enter.
Tigrayan forces said they would respect the ceasefire as long as sufficient aid was delivered to their region “within reasonable time”.https://f8f447a5509c072c26ed0e5e51aeb623.safeframe.googlesyndication.com/safeframe/1-0-38/html/container.htmlReport ad
Only a trickle of aid has made it into Tigray, where more than 90% of the population need food aid, since the Ethiopian military pulled out at the end of June after months of bloody clashes.
The United Nations has blamed bureaucracy and insecurity for blocking convoys and said at least 100 trucks of aid are needed to enter Tigray every day.
Only 144 trucks have made it in since the ceasefire was announced a month ago, with the latest 74 arriving on Monday, according to the U.N. World Food Programme.
It was unclear if the pull-out was negotiated with the Ethiopian government.
The conflict in northern Ethiopia has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions across three regions in Ethiopia and into neighbouring Sudan.
The TPLF has accused Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of trying to centralise power at the expense of the regions and Abiy has accused the TPLF of trying to regain national power – accusations each side has denied.
Reporting by Addis Ababa Newsroom; Writing by George Obulutsa; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Rosalba O’Brien
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.
Tigrayan forces say they are withdrawing from Ethiopia’s Afar region
By Zahid Mahmood and Hafsa Khalil, CNN and Reuters
Updated 1416 GMT (2216 HKT) April 26, 2022
Civilians fill plastic containers with water in Lalibela, a town in northern Ethiopia, on March 31, 2022.
(CNN)Tigrayan forces are fully withdrawing from Ethiopia’s Afar region, a spokesperson for the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Forces (TPLF) told CNN on Monday, saying the pullout should allow humanitarian aid to reach the area.The conflict in northern Ethiopia broke out in Tigray between the TPLF and the forces of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed‘s central government in November 2020, and spilled over into neighboring regions. The TPFL expanded into Afar last year.The spokesperson, Getachew Reda, said that the Ethiopian government and regional authorities were using the TPLF’s presence in Afar as an excuse to block humanitarian relief there, and other neighboring regions, an accusation they deny.
“Now that excuse has gone, we can expect humanitarian needs to be accessed,” Reda said.
Regional police commissioner Ahmed Harif said Tigrayan forces had withdrawn from the town of Abala in Afar, but were still in three of the region’s districts, Reuters reported.
Rights groups accuse Ethiopian regional forces of ethnic cleansing in Tigray
Fighting in northern Ethiopia has eased since the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire last month, saying it would allow humanitarian aid to enter.Tigrayan forces said they would respect the ceasefire as long as sufficient aid was delivered to their region “within reasonable time.”
In terms of Tigray, only a trickle of aid has made it in. Some 90% of the population needs food aid there, since the Ethiopian military pulled out at the end of June after months of bloody clashes.Since its start, the conflict has killed thousands and displaced millions as it spread to neighboring areas.CNN has reached out to Ethiopian government officials for comment.
The United Nations has blamed bureaucracy and insecurity for blocking convoys and said at least 100 trucks of aid are needed to enter Tigray every day.Since the ceasefire, only 144 trucks have made it in, with the latest 74 arriving on Monday, according to the United Nations World Food Program.