The rebels and the Ethiopian federal authorities agreed on Saturday, November 12, to "humanitarian access to all those in need" in the Tigray region, plagued by two years of war, they announced at a conference of press in Nairobi.
The announcement follows discussions in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on the implementation of the peace agreement signed on November 2 in Pretoria, including the disarmament of rebel forces, the restoration of federal authority in Tigray and the delivery help.
"Silencing the Guns"
The agreement signed on Saturday by Field Marshal Berhanu Jula, Chief of Staff of the Ethiopian Armed Forces (ENDF), and General Tadesse Worede, Commander-in-Chief of the Tigray rebel forces, provides "humanitarian access to all those in the needed in Tigray and neighboring regions".
The signed document also provides "safety guarantees for humanitarian workers".
This will be "with immediate effect", said former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, special envoy of the African Union (AU) for the Horn of Africa.
"We have fought for the past two years to defend our interests...we have suffered untold misery," said Tadesse Worede.
“And we still suffer,” he continued.
"Our commitment is to bring stability and peace," assured Marshal Berhanu Jula.
This agreement is a way to "silence the guns", according to former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, special envoy of the AU.
On Thursday, the Addis Ababa government said aid was "flowing like never before" into Tigray.
Authorities also said they control about 70% of the Tigray region.
These assertions "are not based on any reality", had then replied to AFP Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the rebel authorities of Tigray.
A humanitarian worker based in Tigray had also denied to AFP any arrival of aid in this region of six million inhabitants, almost cut off from the world and in the grip of a very serious humanitarian crisis.
On Wednesday, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom, himself a Tigrayan and a former senior official of the party from which the rebel authorities came, had already denounced the lack of arrival of aid in Tigray since the peace agreement signed in Pretoria.
Despite the peace agreement, access to part of northern Ethiopia, including Tigray, remains off limits to journalists.
It is therefore impossible to verify these assertions and to know the precise positions of the belligerents before or since the peace agreement.
One of the deadliest conflicts in the world
Fighting in Tigray resumed on August 24 after a five-month truce.
The region is cut off from the rest of the country and deprived of electricity, telecommunications networks, banking services and fuel.
The road and air transport of humanitarian aid has also been completely interrupted since the resumption of fighting.
The conflict in Tigray began in November 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abyi Ahmed sent the federal army there to arrest leaders in the region who had challenged his authority for months, and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases. on the spot.
Initially defeated, Tigray rebel forces regained control of most of the region during 2021, in a counter-offensive that spilled over into neighboring Amhara and Afar provinces, and saw them approach Addis Abeba.
The rebels then retreated towards Tigray.
The outcome of this conflict marked by countless abuses, which took place largely behind closed doors, is unknown.
But the International Crisis Group (ICG) and Amnesty International (AI) describe it as "one of the deadliest in the world".
Crimes against humanity have been committed "by all parties" with complete "impunity" in Tigray, accused Amnesty International on October 26, which did not rule out "genocide".
The war has also displaced more than two million Ethiopians and plunged hundreds of thousands into near-famine conditions, according to the UN.
With AFP
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