Maj. Gen. Teshome Gemechu, Director General of Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation at the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, told foreign military attaches residing in Addis Ababa that no security forces other than the ENDF are currently operating in Tigray. The fact of the matter, however, is that Eritrean and Amhara security forces continue to operate in Tigray though some Eritrean contingents seem to have withdrawn from some parts of Tigray. Representative of Tigrayan forces, Getachew Reda, dismissed the claim that Eritrean forces have withdrawn their forces from Tigray. The United States also confirmed that Eritrean forces are still on Ethiopian soil.
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News: No other security forces in Tigray except Federal, army tells Military Attachés, AU reps and other diplomats
Source: Addis Standard
27 Jan 2023
Addis Abeba – There is no other security force in the Tigray region apart from the Federal Defense Forces, said Major General Teshome Gemmechu Directorate General of Defense Foreign Relations and Military Cooperation of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces (ENDF).
Major General Teshome said this while briefing Military Attachés for various countries based in Addis Abeba; Representatives of the African Union, Leaders from the Red Cross Society and representatives of other international organizations on the implementation of the peace agreement, according to the ENDF.
The army quoted Major General Teshome as saying that the opportunities created after the signing of the Pretoria peace agreement has made breathing the air of peace possible not only for Ethiopia but also for the countries in the wider region.
He also said there were many encourages steps taken to implement the agreement including visits by government officials, opening up and services in the Tigray region, ENDF said, crediting the government for 78% of daily humanitarian supplies, and asking the international community “to strengthen their support.”
Efforts are being made to resolve “minor problems through dialogue in order to implement the peace agreement, the Major General told the participants o the briefing.
It is to be recalled that the African Union Monitoring, Verification and Compliance Mechanism (AU-MVCM) that was officially launched in Mekelle, the capital city of Tigray regional state on Thursday 29 December and appointed Maj. Gen. Stephen Radina of Kenya to lead the team.
The MVCM team has since only confirmed the launch of the disarmament process of Tigrayan combatants and Tigrayan forces’ handing over of heavy weapons to the Ethiopian National Defense Forces, which took place on Tuesday 10, January. It has not issued any other statement, especially on the “withdrawal of foreign and non-ENDF forces from the region” which was stipulated to have happened “concurrently” with the “disarmament of heavy weapons,” according to the the Executive Declaration on the Modalities for the Implementation of the Pretoria agreement, which was signed in Nairobi on 12 November 2022.
Source: Addis Standard
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“Peace Agreement Demonstrate Africans Can Solve Problems Through Discussion: Military Attachés”
Ethiopian News Agency (ENA)
29 Jan 2023
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In a Twitter tweet on 28 Jan 2023, spokesperson of the Tigrayan forces, Getachew Reda, said “there are thousands of Eritrean and Amhara forces in Tigray” and that “there is tons of withdrawal to be made before that happens”.
“The following statement attributed to #GenTeshome of the #ENDF is quite misleading at least for two reasons. One, it’s factually inaccurate as, despite commendable signs of withdrawal of non-ENDF forces, there are thousands of Eritrean &Amhara forces in Tigray. 2nd, it’s for the Monitoring and Compliance Team of the AU to verify whether this has indeed happened as per our agreement. And if the Team’s itinerary is any guide, there is little to suggest that this is going to happen soon. There is tons of withdrawal to be done before that happens!”
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