An official delegation of the Ethiopian authorities led by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tagesse Chafo, has travelled this Monday to the capital of Tigray region, Mekelle, for the first time since the signing in November of the cessation of hostilities agreement with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The Ethiopian Government Communications Service has indicated that the purpose of the delegation is to monitor the implementation of the clauses of the agreement, as reported by the Ethiopian television channel Fana. The delegation also includes several members of the National Dialogue Commission.
The visit is the first by a high-level official delegation since TPLF forces recaptured Mekelle and most of Tigray region in late June 2021, toppling an interim regional authorities set up by Addis Ababa as part of the conflict unleashed in November 2020.
It also comes a few days after the government and the TPLF agreed to set up a ceasefire monitoring team in the region as part of steps to implement the African Union (AU)-mediated cessation of hostilities agreement, as confirmed by former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is spearheading the continental body’s efforts.
The conflict in Tigray erupted in November 2020 following a TPLF attack on the main army base in Mekelle, after which the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered an offensive against the group. The outbreak of fighting followed months of political and administrative tensions, including the TPLF’s refusal to recognize an electoral postponement and its decision to hold regional elections outside Addis Ababa.
The TPLF accuses Abiy of whipping up tensions since coming to power in April 2018, when he became the first Oromo to accede to office. Until then, the TPLF had been the dominant force within Ethiopia’s ruling coalition since 1991, the ethnically-supported Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The group opposed Abiy’s reforms, which it saw as an attempt to undermine its influence.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
