Tigray accuses Ethiopian government of drone attacks, shelling after deal to cease hostilities

 

Redwan Hussien, second left, representative of the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda, second right, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, sign a peace agreement regarding the African Union-led negotiations to resolve conflict in Ethiopia at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation offices in Pretoria, South Africa. AFP

 

Authorities in Ethiopia's northern Tigray region accused the government of that country of violating a signed peace agreement by using drone attacks and heavy artillery to target civilians.

 

Less than 72 hours have passed since the two warring groups signed a peace agreement to put an end to one of the deadliest civil wars in recent memory.

 

On Wednesday, the rival Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which governs the northern region of Tigray, and the Ethiopian government agreed a "permanent suspension of hostilities."

 

Per the signed agreement, the warring parties will cease hostilities and “silence guns in principle” in the war-torn Tigray region, and work on ending the two-year war “without delay.”

 

The agreements' signing, which followed ten days of tense negotiations, represents a significant turning point in the AU-led mediation process, which got under way on October 25 in South Africa with the aim of finding a peaceful resolution to the two-year conflict that has gripped the country in the Horn of Africa.

 

What was agreed?

 

According to AU, the two sides agreed to a disarmament plan as well as unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, and resumption of suspended basic services to Tigray.

 

The parties have agreed on “systematic, orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament, restoration of services, unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, protection of civilians, especially women children and other vulnerable groups,” said mediator and former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo.

 

The agreement also offers the “assurance of security for all concerned inside and outside Ethiopia.”

 

The breakthrough agreement sealed in South Africa has been hailed by the international community as a key step towards ending the two-year-old Tigray conflict.

 

But yet, a long journey awaits for the warring parties to reach and seal a permanent ceasefire.

 

Defying peace deal

 

One day after both sides agreed to silence the guns the Ethiopian military has allegedly continued to carry out deadly attacks defying the deal.

 

Tigray External Affairs Office representative, Professor Kindeya Gebrehiwot on Friday said that the Ethiopian military has carried out attacks targeting civilians in the Tigrayan city of Maychew.

 

The air raids were carried out on Thursday, less than 24 hours after the Pretoria peace agreement was inked.

 

“According to sources at Lemlem-Karl Hospital, drones of Ethiopia have attacked civilians,” he said in a tweet today.

 

“There was also shelling of artillery in the same city that killed and wounded civilians,” the official said without giving further details on the number of casualties.

 

"This [the attack] happened after the peace accord was signed in Pretoria," he continued.

 

Sudan Tribune reported that it was unable to independently confirm the accusations, but, the hospital posted video of a number of injured citizens on social media.

 

Requests from Sudan Tribune were not immediately answered by Ethiopian government representatives.

Observers and diplomats have warned of a rough road ahead; on Friday, Josep Borrell, the EU's top diplomat, said that reaching a long-term truce was "going to be very difficult."

 

Borrell admitted that the accord was "excellent news" when he spoke to reporters outside of the G7 foreign ministers conference in the German city of Münster, but he issued a warning: "Making peace is much more difficult than making war."

 

Since its breakout in November 2020, the Tigray conflict has claimed the lives of tens and thousands, uprooted millions and caused a grave humanitarian crisis, subjecting 90 per cent of the estimated seven million Tigray population to be aid-dependent, not to mention the destruction of property at alarming proportions.

 

“As many as half a million” people have been killed in the conflict, according to Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador to the United Nations, who warned the UN Security Council last month of the potential for “mass atrocities” if the fighting continues.