Eritrea announced yesterday to the United Nations Security Council that it has agreed to withdraw its troops from Tigray, Ethiopia. This is Asmara’s first official recognition of the presence in the region of its soldiers, accused by NGOs and the United Nations of having perpetrated violence and massacres.
Ethiopia, origin and reasons for the crisis
by Giampaolo Cadalanu
The admission – contained in a letter sent to the 15 Council members and posted online on the Eritrean Ministry of Information website – comes after the head of the UN aid agency Mark Lowcock said that the United Nations has not yet received evidence of the withdrawal of Eritrean forces.
Ethiopia, the crisis is getting worse. The US denounces: “Eritrea joins Abiy Ahmed’s war in Tigrai”
by Raffaella Scuderi
“As the threats have receded, Eritrea and Ethiopia have agreed at their highest level on the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and the simultaneous deployment of Ethiopian soldiers at the border,” wrote Eritrean Ambassador to the United Nations Sophia Tesfamariam.
Tigray, videos of the massacres in the “war without photos”
by Vittorio Longhi
Eritrean forces helped the federal government of Addis Ababa fight the former ruling party in a conflict that erupted in November in Ethiopia. Until now, however, Asmara had denied the presence of its own military in the region.
Ethiopia, famine threatens Tigray. The army hunts down patriotic militias
by Pietro Del Re
Last month, Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed acknowledged the involvement of Eritrean soldiers on the ground and the United Nations called for their withdrawal. On Thursday Lowcock denounced: “No humanitarian agency has seen evidence of this withdrawal, indeed there are stories of Eritrean soldiers who have simply changed their uniform to wear Ethiopian uniforms”.
Thousands of people have moved into the conflict and hundreds of thousands have been forced to leave their homes in a region with 5 million inhabitants.
Tigray, in satellite photos the evidence of the massacre carried out by the Ethiopian army
“There are accounts supported by evidence of Eritrean guilt in massacres and killings,” Lowcock continued. Eritrean soldiers opened fire on Monday, killing at least 9 civilians and wounding dozens of others. In briefings to the Security Council, numerous cases of rape used as weapons of war and the widespread economic crisis that led to starvation of the population in Tigray were detailed. “We have heard false allegations of rape and starvation used as weapons of war,” Tesfamariam wrote. “These are outrageous accusations, an attack on the culture and history of our people.”
.