Rebels in Ethiopia’s war-torn Tigray region on Sunday accepted “a ceasefire in principle” but posed strict conditions for it to be formalised.
Notable among those conditions was the withdrawal from the region of Eritrean forces as well as fighters from the neighbouring Ethiopian region of Amhara, who have been supporting the Ethiopian Army during the eight-month long conflict.
Tigray has been the scene of fighting since Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent the Army in November to topple the dissident regional authorities, which emerged from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner accused them of orchestrating attacks on Ethiopian military bases.
After early successes and a premature declaration of victory, government forces were bogged down in a vicious and months-long battle with pro-TPLF fighters — the Tigray Defence Forces, or TDF. The Ethiopian Army was backed by troops from the neighbouring Amhara region and the army of Eritrea, which borders Tigray.
