The TPLF sets the conditions for a truce with the Ethiopian government in New Ethiopia

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front demands the complete withdrawal of Eritrean troops and fighters from the Ethiopian state of Amhara.

The rebel leadership in the Tigray region of Ethiopia has called for the complete withdrawal of Eritrean troops and fighters from the neighboring Ethiopian state of Amhara before holding talks with the federal government on the ceasefire.

The development came in a statement issued by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on Sunday, when regional authorities fired troops from Ethiopia and troops around Eritrea last year.

TPLF returned to the regional capital, Mekelle, to cheer on the crowd on Monday. Their return was made by the federal government in a unilateral declaration of the ceasefire and dismissed by TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda as a “joke”.

Sunday’s document said the TPLF would in principle accept a ceasefire if there were iron guarantees to prevent an invasion, but that other conditions would have to be met before the agreement could be formalized.

“The invading forces of Amhara and Eritrea must withdraw from Tigray and return to pre-war territories,” he said.

Rebel authorities are demanding “procedures” to hold Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki accountable for the “damage” they have caused, as well as the creation of an independent United Nations investigative body. “Horrible crimes” committed during the conflict.

Other humanitarian conditions include the distribution of aid and the safe return of displaced people to Tigray.

No immediate comment was made by the prime minister’s spokesman and the chairman of the government working group set up to coordinate the security operation in Tigray.

Legitimation of TPLF

Al Jazeera’s Catherine Soi reported from the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa that one of the least liked conditions is to restore what Addis Ababa considers to be the government of the Tigray rebels.

“We have not heard from the Ethiopian government … it will be difficult to accept some of these demands. For example, by legitimizing the TPLF as a Tigray government, [central] the government will accept failure, ”he said.

“But some analysts we’ve talked to say it’s maybe a small window to start a political dialogue.”

The TPLF dominated the central government a few decades before Abiy came to power in 2018.

His government has been fighting the TPLF since the end of last year after it was accused of attacking military bases in Tigray. Thousands of people have been killed.

More than 400,000 people in the region are now hungry and there is a risk of further clashes in the region despite a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government, the UN warned on Friday.