By John Ikani
As talks on disarming Ethiopian rebel group – Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) progresses, conciliatory actions are being witnessed at the warfront.
Speaking to the US-based Ethiopian Media Services (EMS TV) on Tuesday, Redwan Hussein, the Security Adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, disclosed that TPLF combatants have begun to approach federal troops at the warfront for food and cigarettes.
“They eat food, get cigarettes, pose for photos and jointly bury the dead. In fact, they [TPLF delegates] are telling us that they have videos showing all that and we will have them,” said Mr Redwan, who is also attending the talks in Nairobi.
Mr Redwan said soldiers were keen on the peace process because they do not enjoy “killing and dying”.
“They want to save their lives and help their parents. The problem is politics and once political problems are solved, everything else is back to normal,” added Mr Redwan.
Heritage Times [HT] had earlier reported that talks between the senior commanders of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and the TPLF kicked off in Nairobi on Monday, to draw up a plan for the disarmament of the fighters and subsequent rehabilitation.
The meeting is being facilitated by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, as well as members of the AU High Panel for Ethiopia, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, former South African Vice President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, among others.
Getachew Reda, TPLF’s spokesperson, said they are committed to honouring the agreements made in Pretoria last week, “but more importantly, we leave it to the commanders to figure out how to implement the agreement that we agreed on.”
“It is time for the very people who have a deeper understanding of the situation on the ground to talk about how to go back and make sure that whatever happens is going to result in lasting peace,” he added.
The conflict in Tigray erupted in November 2020 following a TPLF attack on the army’s main base in Mekelle, after which the Abiy government ordered an offensive against the group following months of political and administrative tensions, including the TPLF’s refusal to recognize an election postponement and its decision to hold regional elections outside Addis Ababa.
The TPLF accuses Abiy of whipping up tensions since coming to power in April 2018, when he became the first Oromo to accede to office. Until then, the TPLF had been the dominant force within Ethiopia’s ruling coalition since 1991, the ethnically-supported Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The group opposed Abiy’s reforms, which it saw as an attempt to undermine its influence.
