And Tigray TV, the official television channel of Tigray, reported that the process of “demobilization of the Tigray Defense Forces is about to begin”, and that the fighters will be “transferred” to other places “from of May 26, 2023”, according to the “African Union Monitoring and Verification Mission” and Compliance” responsible for ensuring the implementation of the agreement concluded in Pretoria on November 2.
The “Fana BC” television channel, close to the “Prosperity Party” led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, reported that the “first phase of the program for the reintegration and rehabilitation of former combatants” in Tigray “has been officially launched. on Friday in the outskirts of Mekele, the regional capital of Tigray, in the presence of an African Union delegation for monitoring, verification and compliance.
The station quoted General Derby Mekuria, deputy head of the National Reintegration Commission established by the federal government after the cessation of hostilities, as saying, addressing the fighters: “Seize the opportunity offered by this peace in order to change your lives. and to participate in the development of the region and of Ethiopia as a whole.
Similarly, the station quoted the representative of the Tigray forces, General Megbe Haile, as saying, “When you complete the reintegration program and reintegrate into society, you should be a force for development and peace.”
What happened?
• On 2 November, the regional authorities of Tigray and the Ethiopian federal government in Pretoria signed an agreement ending hostilities, after a two-year war that left hundreds of thousands dead.
• Despite the slow implementation, the agreement has started to translate into practice. Since its signing, the fighting has receded considerably and the Eritrean forces which intervened to help the Ethiopian army have left Tigray, despite reports that they are still deployed in border areas.
• Tigray forces began handing over their heavy weapons in January, knowing that the process of handing over weapons is still ongoing, although forces from the neighboring Amhara region, which supported the federal army to confront the Tigray forces, continue to control the western part of the region.
• The provisions of the disarmament process stipulated that it should coincide with the exit of Eritrean forces and forces from the Amhara region of Tigray.
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