The US highlights the “significant progress” in the implementation of the peace agreement between Ethiopia and the TPLF

3 May. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, has highlighted the “significant progress” in the implementation of the peace agreement reached in November 2022 between the Government of Ethiopia and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF) and has highlighted the importance of the withdrawal of Eritrean troops from the country to achieve further progress.

Blinken has indicated that the agreement, signed six months ago, “began a peace and recovery process that continues to this day” and has stressed that to date it has made it possible to “restore essential services, the delivery of humanitarian aid, the handing over of heavy weapons by the TPLF, the release of detainees, the initiation of a comprehensive and inclusive transitional justice process, and the establishment of an interim regional administration in the Tigray region.”

“The United States calls for continuous monitoring (of the agreement), including the deployment of additional observers for the protection of civilians and carrying out an effective process of disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration,” he said, before stressing that “a process of credible transitional justice, including the accountability of those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, will be key to achieving sustainable peace in northern Ethiopia.”

Thus, he has maintained that “the successful peace process in northern Ethiopia underscores the opportunity to achieve peace in the Oromia region as well”, after the Ethiopian Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, announced the start of talks with the rebel Oromo Liberation Army (OLA).

“The United States applauds the start of talks in Tanzania, announced by Abiy, between the Ethiopian government and members of the OLA and encourages all parties to negotiate in good faith towards a mutually acceptable resolution,” he said, while It has praised the “importance” of its partnership with Addis Ababa and its “commitment to work together on these and other matters of mutual interest.”

The conflict in Tigray erupted in November 2020 after a TPLF attack on the main Ethiopian Army base, located in Mekelle, after which Abiy ordered an offensive against the group after months of political and administrative tensions, including the refusal of the TPLF when recognizing an electoral postponement and its decision to hold regional elections outside of Addis Ababa.

The TPLF accused Abiy of stoking tensions since he came to power in April 2018, when he became the first Oromo to take office. Until then, the TPLF had been the dominant force within the coalition that has ruled Ethiopia since 1991, the ethnically based Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The group opposed Abiy’s reforms, which it viewed as an attempt to undermine his influence.