Eritrean troops under pressure to withdraw from Ethiopia's Tigray region

Ethiopian army soldiers watch a truck full of militia men at Mai Aini Refugee camp, housing Eritrean refugees in Ethiopia (AFP via Getty Images)

LONDON - A Christian Human Rights foundation based in the United Kingdom [UK] has called for immediate withdrawal and disengagement of Eritrean troops from the Tigray region, hours after authorities in the northern part of Ethiopia confirmed that they had surrendered weapons to the federal government.

The Christian Solidarity Worldwide [CSW] noted that the involvement of Eritrean troops in Tigray has been huge, noting that the time has come for the soldiers to return back to their country for the purpose of stability in the Horn of African nation which has been in conflict for the last 32 months.

CSW through Joint Head of Advocacy and Team Leader for Africa and Middle East Khataza Gondwe said the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray had substantially slowed down peace progress within the country. A few of the Eritrean soldiers had withdrawn from the holy city of Axum.

“The continuing presence of troops implicated in the commission of the gravest of international crimes constitutes a clear threat both to the peace process and to the lives of Tigrayan civilians,” Ms. Gondwe says in a Thursday, January 5 report.

She adds, “We call on the African Union and the rest of the international community to ensure the immediate withdrawal of Eritrean troops from Ethiopia, including by formulating and initiating additional targeted sanctions and a comprehensive arms embargo, if deemed necessary.”

“We also call for the demobilization of conscripts, and urge the Eritrean government to end its military adventurism and focus instead on respecting and fulfilling the rights and freedoms of Eritrean citizens, ensuring that they are finally able to enjoy the dividends of their hard-won independence,” the CSW official says.

The CSW team rejected claims that Eritrean troops had complied with the peace accord by withdrawing, arguing that they were still subjecting people to unwarranted torture in Tigray.

According to the Christian human rights entity, the recent detention of a Catholic Bishop and Priests in Eritrea occurred against the backdrop of atrocities in the country, and neighboring Ethiopia. Ethiopia maintains that the troops have left as part of the implementation of the peace deal.

“Eritrea is heavily involved in the civil unrest in Ethiopia, and the arrests and subsequent releases of the Catholic clergy occurred against the backdrop of the punitive door-to-door roundups and forcible conscription of Eritrean citizens of all ages, which continue despite the African Union-brokered cessation of hostilities,” the human rights foundation reports.

According to the foundation, Eritrea is not a party to the peace agreement and its troops have also continued to violate the rights of Tigrayan civilians. The country dispatched troops to assist Ethiopian National Defense Forces [ENDF] who were at loggerheads with TPLF.

“Although some recent reports have indicated that Eritrean troops have withdrawn from towns including Axum and Shire, others detail ongoing violations, including the murders of two young men by Eritrean troops in Axum on 3 January, while photographs continue to emerge allegedly showing Eritrean troops on the streets of Shire, the entity reports.

This comes as the Tigray People's Liberation Front [TPLF] through spokesperson Getachew Reda confirmed that the outfit has surrendered weapons as part of the peace deal in the region. Besides the withdrawal of Eritrean troops, Ethiopia was also asked to restore basic services such as banking, electricity, telecommunication, and humanitarian assistance in Tigray.

GAROWE ONLINE