Month: November 2022

A day before the anniversary of the civil war in Ethiopia, a cessation of hostilities agreement was reached by warring factions in talks that went into overtime in Pretoria, South Africa.

The war in Tigray, which spilled over to the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara, began on 3 November 2020 and was set to mark its second year today (Thursday).

The war has accounted for over half-a-million deaths.

Research into the war by Belgium’s Ghent University found that, by June this year, about 100 000 deaths were from fighting, 150 000 to 200 000 due to famine, and 100 000 due to lack of medical attention.

Some reports put that figure closer to a million people, while six million others in Tigray face acute hunger.

As a result, when the African Union-led talks got underway, stakeholders desired positive results.

Between March and August, a mini-truce was reached by the warring parties to allow much-needed aid into Tigray.

After the talks agreement was made public in Pretoria, Moussa Faki Mahamat – the chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission – said:

“The agreement marks an important step in efforts to silence the guns and provides a solid foundation for the preservation of Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the immediate cessation of hostilities, the resumption of unhindered humanitarian access, the restoration of services as well as healing and reconciliation.

United States Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, also welcomed the momentous step taken in Pretoria.

“We commend the parties for taking this initial step to agree to end the fighting and continue dialogue to resolve outstanding issues to consolidate peace and bring an end to almost two years of conflict,” he said.

The Prime Minister of the Federal Government of Ethiopia, Abiy Ahmed, said he had counted on the continued AU resolve to the reconstruction of Tigray.

However, nowhere in his statement did he mention the United States, whom he earlier accused of being biased in the peace process.

Getachew Gebrekiros Temare, the executive director of the Tigray Human Rights Forum, told News24 he was worried that Eritrean forces might not obey the AU process.

He said:

“There is no question that Eritrea has been the driving force behind the instability of the Horn of Africa for decades. I don’t believe Eritrea will easily withdraw its troops from Ethiopia soon. The regime is one of the few regimes that runs counter to every standard of international law.

Temare also said that Ahmed thanked the “brave members of the Ethiopian Defence Forces”, but did not have the right energy for someone who wanted peace.

“I was anticipating sympathy once the peace agreement was made with him. Abbey Ahmed has the blood of hundreds of thousands of people. He hasn’t uttered a word. Instead, the prime minister has paid tribute to his army.

“Remember, the military committed terrible atrocities, ethnic cleansing, and genocide crimes in Tigray. A good peace necessarily requires positive statements from the outset, if it is to be maintained,” he said.

The agreement

Tigray would fall under Ethiopia, “in a manner consistent with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia”, meaning the area would be under Ahmed’s administration, instead of the breakaway state that Tigray wanted.

To avoid conflict, a political solution is required to address grievances from both parties.

Mekelle, the capital of Tigray, will fall under federal authority so that there’s a return to normal life and social services.

Human rights violations will be investigated, especially after research work carried out during the war implicated both parties in gross human rights abuses on civilians and their livelihoods.

As part of the peace deal, respect for human rights is imperative and parties are expected to work together toward upholding democracy as defined in the AU charter on Democracy Elections and Governance.

Parties also agreed to “disengage forces or armed groups under their control” and put an end to covert or overt operations linked to the conflict, such as the laying of mines, airstrikes, and other forms of sabotage.

It was also agreed that the warring factions should form one army, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front should be on a Disarmament, Demobilisation, and Reintegration programme.

 

Source: Dehai Eritrea Online

NAIROBI — November 4 marks two years since war broke out in Ethiopia’s Tigray region between Tigrayan forces and the federal government and its regional allies, including neighboring Eritrea.

Analysts say the war has left hundreds of thousands of people dead, millions displaced, and a trail of atrocities and war crimes on both sides. But a truce announced late Wednesday after South African-hosted peace talks by the African Union has raised hopes that fighting could end.

Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray rebel group have agreed to end the two-year conflict after a week of talks in South Africa.

Speaking after the agreement, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo said the deal marked a new dawn for Ethiopia.

“The two parties in the Ethiopian conflict have formally agreed to a cessation of hostilities as well as to systematic, orderly smooth and coordinated disarmament, restoration of law and order, restoration of services, unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, protection of civilians, especially women, children and other vulnerable groups among other areas of agreement,” Obasanjo said.

The agreement comes after 10 days of talks in Pretoria, South Africa, mediated by the African Union, led by Obasanjo.

The deal calls for the Tigray rebel group to lay down their arms in exchange for reintegration and the return of the national army to the region. With mistrust on both sides, experts say this part of the agreement may be difficult to fulfill.

The warring factions also agreed to end hate speech that has fueled much of the two-year-old conflict.

The agreement is seen as a major breakthrough after the warring sides failed to come to the table to find ways to end the war that has claimed the lives of tens of thousands and displaced millions.

Obasanjo said the agreement would be followed through.

“The agreement also takes care of assurance of security for all concerned within and outside Ethiopia. Monitoring, supervising, and verification of implementation will be carried out by the AU high-level panel,” Obasanjo said. “For what we have achieved, delegates from both sides working together among yourselves, we salute you, we commend you and we congratulate you.”

Tigray rebel group spokesperson Getachew Reda warned of spoilers who would try to sabotage the peace deal.

Reda said his side has made a painful concession and called on the international community to ensure the peace agreement is implemented.

Speaking at an online press briefing organized by Refugees International, Solomon Mezgebu, president of the Tigray Human Rights Forum, said this time Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed will have to abide by the agreement.

“Unfortunately, Abiy is determined and his main motive for going to this negotiation, as he has demonstrated for the last two years, is buying time, buying time, buying time,” said Mezgebu. “He’s stuck now because there are weaknesses. It’s now a formal process. It’s now a very structured process. Heavyweight folks are involved within this process. So, this is a very good start, even though I don’t have high hopes. But it’s a very good start because the world is witnessing who is saying what and who is doing what. So, I think it would have some pressure. It would still be dictated about what’s happening on the ground. Abiy would continue to buy time, to try to buy time. I’m not sure he would have those opportunities again.”

In a statement, Abiy Ahmed said the agreement was “monumental” in moving Ethiopia forward. He said his government was committed to implementing the agreement.

Ethiopian forces in the two-year conflict have received military backing from Eritrea to push forces from Tigray and concerns were raised about how Asmara will react to the agreement.

Abdullahi Halakhe is the Refugees International senior advocate for East and Southern Africa. He says the influence of Eritrea in the conflict in the north of Ethiopia cannot be wished away.

“I think that is probably one of the weaknesses of this peace process, the way it’s structured. I mean, I can appreciate the wisdom behind it,” Halakhe said. “Part of it was to get Abiy away from Eritrea so that you could create a symmetry where now Abiy feels like he has to negotiate. But the danger there is really that Abiy is practically beholden to Asmara. His military is fairly decimated. He doesn’t have a ton of forces apart from the conscription and also the funded militia. So, it’s a very high-wired position that has been taken by the international community, particularly the United States. So, we are really stuck with Asmara for the foreseeable future.”

Ethiopian forces and the Tigray rebel group reached a similar agreement to end the fighting earlier this year, but the two sides resumed fighting in August, breaking an almost five-month-long cease-fire.

 

Source: Voice of America

ADDIS ABABA/WASHINGTON — World leaders are reacting with cautious optimism after the announcement of a peace deal and a cease-fire between warring parties in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region.

It “represents an important step towards peace,” U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said. “We applaud the parties in their commitment to peace in reaching this agreement. The United States remains committed to supporting this African Union-led process and peace and to partnering to advance peace in northern Ethiopia.”

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken “welcomed the signing of a cessation of hostilities” in a Twitter post Wednesday, praising the African Union for “its extraordinary efforts to bring peace to northern Ethiopia.”

“Two years into the war in northern Ethiopia, the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front have just agreed to a cessation of hostilities, while millions remain cut off from humanitarian assistance and following countless deaths and atrocities,” U.S. Senator Jim Risch, the ranking Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said in a statement.

Risch called on U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to “make an atrocities determination or hold Ethiopian leaders accountable for the human rights abuses committed. This inaction has contributed to continued atrocities.”

Negotiations began on October 25 in Johannesburg and concluded after 10 days. The deal calls for the disarming of Tigrayan forces with both parties agreeing to “permanently silence the guns.” The parties agreed to “stop all forms of conflicts, and hostile propaganda,” calling Ethiopians within the country and abroad to support efforts for lasting peace.

The brief joint statement notes “a detailed program of disarmament” and “restoration of Constitutional order” in Tigray.

The Ethiopian government also committed to restoring public services in the Tigray region, where communications, transport and banking links for more than 5 million people have been severed since war broke out. “Students must go to school, farmers, and pastoralists to their fields, and public servants to their offices,” the statement read.

The parties also committed to allowing unfettered access to humanitarian relief organizations.

The Tigray region has been under a government-imposed blackout, making it difficult to gauge the scale of the impact of the war. With little to no internet access, mobile phone and landline communications, journalists struggled to get information from within Tigray.

It is unclear where Eritrea stands, but it has been involved in the Tigray war since the beginning, fighting alongside Ethiopia’s federal government. The neighboring country was not represented at the peace talks and warring parties did not directly address the subject of withdrawal of Eritrean troops in the statement issued.

The African Union played a lead role in the negotiations including the high representative for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, along with former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Deputy President of South Africa Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki congratulated the parties on reaching a deal.

“I warmly commend the Parties for signing a cessations of hostilities agreement following talks facilitated by the AU Panel,” he said in a Twitter post. The AU, he added, is “committed to continue supporting the Parties to find lasting peace & reconciliation for all Ethiopians.”

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres commended the parties and the mediators for achieving the cessation of hostilities.

“It is a critical first step that paves the way for the unimpeded delivery of lifesaving humanitarian aid and the resumption of public services,” he told reporters Thursday at U.N. headquarters.

He said the human cost of the conflict has been “devastating,” and he urged all Ethiopians to seize the opportunity for peace, pledging the full support of the United Nations.

Guterres called on Ethiopians and the international community to “support the bold step” taken by the warring parties. And European Union’s foreign affairs chief Joseph Borrell urged that “swift implementation of the agreement” was needed and underscored the need to “resume humanitarian access in all affected areas and to restore basic services.”

The civil war in Africa’s second-most populous country marks its second anniversary on November 4. The United Nations says the conflict has claimed thousands of lives, with about 3.5 million internally displaced in Tigray in 2022. Humanitarian convoy movements to Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray, through Afar “came to a complete stop” since 24 August, the U.N. said with many facing hunger.

 

Source: Voice of America