Tigrayan rebels have started surrendering their heavy weapons, a key point in a deal signed more than two months ago to end a deadly conflict in northern Ethiopia, a spokesman for the rebel authorities has said. .
“Tigray has handed over its heavy weapons as part of its commitment to implement the Pretoria agreement”signed on November 2 between the Ethiopian government and the Tigrayan rebels, said Getachew Reda in a tweet. “We hope and anticipate that this will go a long way in accelerating the full implementation of the agreement. We hope and foresee”, he continued. The peace agreement signed on November 2 provides in particular for the disarmament of rebel forces, the restoration of federal authority in Tigray and the reopening of access and communications to this region cut off from the world since mid-2021.
The fighting began in November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the army to arrest Tigray leaders who had challenged his authority for months and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases. The precise toll of this conflict punctuated by abuses, which took place largely behind closed doors, is unknown. The International Crisis Group think tank and the NGO Amnesty International have described it as “one of the deadliest in the world”.