(Nairobi) Ethiopian Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed met on Friday for the first time with Tigrayan leaders since a peace agreement signed in November, after a bloody conflict between the federal government and rebels in this northern region of Ethiopia.
The two sides assessed “actions taken so far on the implementation of the Pretoria and Nairobi peace accords” and discussed issues that “require greater attention”, the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation reported ( EBC), the state radio-television.
Redwan Hussein, national security adviser to the prime minister, confirmed on Twitter that the head of government and other officials had met with a delegation from the former rebellion “about the progress of the peace process”.
“As a result, the prime minister has taken decisions on increased flights (to Tigray), banking and other issues that would build confidence and make life easier for civilians,” he said. added.
The war ravaged Tigray for two years.
The November 2 peace agreement in Pretoria, South Africa, notably provides 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. .
In photos posted on the EBC Facebook page, Abyi Ahmed is flanked by Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Demeke Mekonnen, Armed Forces Chief Birhanu Jula and, on the side of the former rebellion, Getachew Reda, Tigrayan spokesman, as well as the Tigrayan general Tsadkan Gebretensae.
In an interview with the EBC, the spokesperson for the former rebellion specified that the talks had particularly focused on the recovery of the banking sector and on road transport to Tigray.
“On the part of Tigrayan officials and people, there is no interest in a return to war,” he insisted.
The meeting took place in Halala Kela, in the south of the country.
The fighting began in November 2020, when the Ethiopian prime minister sent the army to arrest the leaders of Tigray who had challenged his authority for months and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases.
Since the Pretoria agreement, the fighting has stopped.
On December 26, a delegation from the Ethiopian government, in the presence of Redwan Hussein and several ministers, traveled to Mekele, capital of the Tigray region, for the first official visit in more than two years, marking a major step in the peace process.
A few days later, on December 29, the Ethiopian federal police entered Mekele, a first for 18 months, in particular to “guarantee the security of institutions”.
In early January, Ethiopian Airlines resumed commercial flights between Addis Ababa and Mekele, a first in 18 months.
Abuses
Despite the peace agreement, the rebels continue to denounce “atrocities” committed by the Eritrean army and the forces of Ethiopia’s Amhara region, which supported the federal army in the conflict.
Access to Tigray being restricted, it is impossible to independently verify the situation on the ground, in particular the presence of Eritrean forces. Asmara did not participate in the Pretoria negotiations.
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”.
The war has also displaced more than two million people and placed hundreds of thousands in near-starvation conditions, according to the UN.
At the same time, the Ethiopian government has embarked on a diplomatic offensive to halt the work of a UN-backed body investigating human rights in the country.
The foreign minister has held talks with the ambassadors of the United States and the United Kingdom, among others, to demand the end of the mandate of this commission of experts, described as “politically biased”, state media reported on Friday. .
In September, these experts indicated in a report to the UN Human Rights Council that war crimes and crimes against humanity had probably been committed, by all the warring parties, during of the war in Tigray.