{"id":1859,"date":"2022-12-04T18:39:44","date_gmt":"2022-12-04T18:39:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/africaparrot.com\/?p=1859"},"modified":"2022-12-04T18:39:51","modified_gmt":"2022-12-04T18:39:51","slug":"tigray-forces-in-ethiopia-say-65-of-fighters-have-left-frontline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/africaparrot.com\/index.php\/2022\/12\/04\/tigray-forces-in-ethiopia-say-65-of-fighters-have-left-frontline\/","title":{"rendered":"Tigray forces in Ethiopia say 65% of fighters have left frontline"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The commander-in-chief of the Tigray rebel forces has said that 65 percent of his forces have \u201cdisengaged\u201d, a month after a ceasefire agreement over Ethiopia\u2019s war-torn northern region.<\/p>

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The withdrawal and disarmament of Tigray\u2019s forces is a key provision of the agreement signed early last month in South Africa to end the two-year conflict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe have started disengagement and relocation of our forces from battlelines\u2026 out of our forces, 65 percent of them have passed through this process, disengaging from battlelines and moved to designated places,\u201c General Tadesse Worede, chief of staff of Tigray\u2019s fighters, told reporters on Saturday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He did not specify the battlelines he was talking about or how far fighters had been withdrawn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AFP was not able to independently verify the claims as Tigray remains inaccessible to journalists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tigray\u2019s authorities had been resisting central rule for months when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused their leadership of attacking federal army camps and sent troops into the region in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The conflict between the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF) and pro-Abiy forces — which include regional militias and the Eritrean army — has caused an untold number of deaths, forced more than two million people from their homes and driven hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The two parties signed a peace deal in South Africa on November 2 that agreed to a cessation of hostilities and unfettered aid into Tigray, as well as the disarming of TPLF fighters and re-establishment of federal authority over Tigray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But Tadesse said there were still \u201cforces in the areas that don\u2019t want peace\u201d, apparently referring to Eritrean soldiers and other regional Ethiopian militia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe problems they are creating and the abuses they\u2019re committing on the population isn\u2019t secret, so we\u2019ve paused to some extent (our disengagement) in some places (to prevent) them from entering into new areas and continuing their atrocities on the population.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

His troops would not \u201c100 percent\u201d disengage until the threat was reduced, he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ceasefire makes no mention of the presence on Ethiopian soil or any possible withdrawal of Eritrean troops, who have backed Abiy\u2019s forces and been accused of atrocities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n