By Enyichukwu Enemanna
After reaching a peace deal brokered by the AU in South Africa this month, the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces on Saturday signed an agreement laying out the roadmap for implementation of the pact.
Representatives from the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have been meeting in Nairobi since Monday to reach agreement on various aspects related to the implementation of the peace deal signed in Pretoria.
Saturday’s declaration is expected to boost efforts by the African Union mediators to resolve a two-year conflict that has killed thousands and displaced millions in the Horn of Africa country.
It will facilitate unhindered humanitarian access, provide security guarantees to aid workers, ensure the protection of civilians and establish a joint committee to oversee implementation, mediators said.
The deal will be put into effect “immediately”, mediator and former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo told a news conference before the signing.
Both sides said they were committed to the declaration, stressing it was the only way to restore peace and stability.
“We will fully dedicate ourselves to implementing the Pretoria agreement and this declaration,” said Birhanu Jula, a senior Ethiopian military official and one of the government representatives at the talks.
Ethiopian military officials and TPLF had reached an agreement on the disarmament of TPLF fighters and entry of the Ethiopian military into the Tigrayan capital of Mekele, the federal government said in a statement issued after the signing.
Disarmament will start on Nov. 15, the declaration showed.
One of TPLF’s representatives, General Tadesse Werede, said the declaration on implementation had given them hope that the suffering of the people in Tigray would end.
