UN: immediately withdraw Eritrean troops from Tigray
NEW YORK, United States – The continued presence of Eritrean troops in parts of Tigray has again raised concerns from the United Nations Human Rights Council, which now wants the soldiers to be withdrawn “immediately”.
Over the past eight months, the Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF], Eritrean troops and those of the Amhara regional contingent pursue the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray [TPLF], but in the process, the war has claimed thousands of lives, forced some 2 million more to flee their homes, and led an estimated 400,000 to starvation.
The council said Eritrean troops “were exacerbating the conflict” which continued on Tuesday with the TPLF’s capture of Alamata, the main town in southern Tigray, according to AFP. The city’s reported capture came two weeks after the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire, following rebel advances.
“What is happening in the Tigray region of Ethiopia is appalling,” said Ambassador Lotte Knudsen, head of the EU delegation to the UN, which introduced the resolution. It is imperative that the Human Rights Council be able to remedy this situation. “
Filippo Grandi, the head of UNHCR, said in a statement that “The violence and intimidation of Eritrean refugees must end. Refugees are civilians who need and are entitled to international protection.
At the UN Security Council meeting, Eritrea voted against the UN resolution to immediately withdraw its troops from the region, which is also a key TPLF demand in the ceasefire negotiations. fire.
Fighting between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF erupted in November. Troops from Eritrea, Ethiopia’s neighbor to the north, and Amhara, a neighboring region south of Tigray, have also entered the conflict to support the Ethiopian government.
Already, the ENDF has withdrawn from most parts of Tigray following the declaration of a unilateral ceasefire, but the TPLF otherwise known as the Tigray Defense Forces [TDF], claimed victory in the war after recapturing Mekelle. But Addis Ababa maintains that the withdrawal was due to financial constraints and the need to allow humanitarian teams access to Tigray.
The TDF has vowed to prosecute both Eritrean troops and Amhara regional forces as part of the revenge mission, even though it has given a host of conditions for a ceasefire. On Tuesday, troops drove out regional forces from Amhara from Alamata, a town in southern Tigray in Ethiopia.
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