A large number of Eritrean soldiers left two towns in the Tigray region (northern Ethiopia), after two years of providing support to the Ethiopian army against the Tigray Liberation Front, while the official "Modern Eritrea" newspaper said that the Eritrean army saved Ethiopia from collapse.
According to residents' testimonies, since Friday afternoon, forces left the towns of Shiri and Adwa to an unknown destination.
In this context, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken welcomed the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from northern Ethiopia during a phone call - yesterday, Saturday - with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Blinken "welcomes this development," noting that it is "essential to ensuring lasting peace in northern Ethiopia" and encouraging "allowing access to international human rights monitors."
Blinken said this is a "significant progress", referring to the peace agreement signed in November in South Africa between Addis Ababa and the Tigray rebels.
The presence of these soldiers accused of committing violations against civilians is one of the main obstacles to peace in northern Ethiopia, despite the agreement signed last November 2 between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray rebels to end the bloody war that lasted from November 2020 until the same month of 2022. .
Collapse prevention
For its part, the "Modern Eritrea" newspaper saw that the rapid and decisive intervention of the Eritrean army saved Ethiopia and the region from chaos that would have threatened regional and international peace and security.
She added that the Tigray Front had aimed, through its attack on the northern base of the Ethiopian army, in November 2020, to eliminate the army and overthrow the regime in Addis Ababa, which would have caused the collapse of the state and the emergence of "warlords and extremism."
The newspaper stated that the expected result of the Tigray front attack was the fall of a major country the size of Ethiopia, which embraces 80 nationalities and has a population of more than 100 million people.
She explained that in such a difficult time, it is not possible to find someone to provide support easily, but Eritrea stood by Ethiopia and contributed to supporting the army, which reorganized its ranks and regained its fighting ability.
The conflict caused the displacement of more than two million Ethiopians, and hundreds of thousands plunged into conditions close to famine, according to the United Nations.