Eritrean forces, who supported Ethiopian troops in the two-year long war against Tigrayan forces, have begun withdrawing out of the major towns of Shire and Axum and headed toward the border, some witnesses and an Ethiopian official told Reuters.
It currently remains unclear if the Eritrean troops were leaving Tigray entirely or just pulling back from certain towns.
Eritrea’s Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel told Reuters that he could neither confirm nor deny the withdrawal of the troops.
Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces, and Ethiopian national security advisor Redwan Hussien did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
Tigray residents have accused the Eritrean soldiers of continuing to loot, arrest, and kill civilians after the ceasefire. The Eritrea government has not directly responded to the allegations.
The Eritrean troops’ movements follow a ceasefire deal signed by Ethiopia’s government and Tigray regional forces last month that requires the removal of foreign troops from Tigray.
Eritrea was not a party to that accord, but its troops’ presence in major Tigrayan population centres has raised questions about the conditions finalized in the accord.
Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war between 1998 and 2000, when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which now leads the Tigrayan forces, dominated the federal government.
The Eritrean government continues to consider the TPLF its enemy.
Notably, Ethiopia’s government and Tigrayan authorities have taken several important steps in the past week to implement the peace deal. Representatives from both the factions met in Tigray’s capital Mekelle on Thursday to set up a monitoring team to assess the implementation of the agreement.
Federal police also entered Tigrayan capital Mekelle in accordance with the truce. The state-owned Ethiopian Airlines resumed flights to Mekelle on Wednesday, the first in 18 months. Ethio Telecom reconnected its services to the Tigrayan capital city and 27 other towns.
