Berihu Lilay
BBC Horn of Africa
EBC
At least 6,000 residents of Irob district in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region have been protesting against the government’s decision to implement the Algiers agreement, which hands over contested territories to Eritrea.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced on Tuesday it was time to “end the suffering and fully return to peace” following the 16-year standoff which was sparked by a border conflict in 1998.
He hinted that troops based in the contested town of Badme might be withdrawn, saying they had experienced “psychological effects”.
Irob district spokesperson, Selam Hagos, told state broadcaster EBC the decision would divide members of the minority ethnic group in bordering countries.
Local residents Aznesh Gebremesqel and Tesfay Shifare, who took part in the demonstration, told the BBC the government’s decision didn’t reflect the interests of the people and needs rethinking.
The only opposition party in the region Arena also opposed the move.
“Consultation should have been held with the people and the opposition,” the party’s chairman Abreha Desta told the BBC.
Read more: Ethiopia offers Eritrea chance to end Africa’s longest war