KAMPALA, Uganda (AP) – Ethiopian officials say Eritrean troops have begun to withdraw from Tigray, where they are fighting alongside Ethiopian forces in a war against fugitive leaders in the region.
Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement late Saturday that the Eritreans “have now begun to evacuate” Tigray and that Ethiopian forces “have taken over the national border”.
It is unclear how many Eritrean troops have left, and some in Tigray say the Eritreans are not leaving. Some of the region’s leaders have accused Eritrean troops at times of Ethiopian military uniforms.
The Ethiopian government faces intense pressure to end the Tigray war, which started in November, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops there after an attack on federal military installations. Fugitive leaders in the region do not recognize Abiy’s authority after a national election was postponed last year amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The G-7 group of countries issued a strong statement on Friday calling for the “rapid, unconditional and verifiable” withdrawal of Tigray’s Eritrean troops after Abiy said last week that the Eritreans had agreed to go.
That statement also called for “the establishment of a clear and inclusive political process that is acceptable to all Ethiopians, including those in Tigray, and that leads to credible elections and a broader national reconciliation process.”
There are more and more reports of atrocities, such as massacres and rapes in the war, and concern about the lack of food and medical care in Tigray, a region of 6 million, is growing.