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Tigray’s warlords in Ethiopia pledged to expel “enemies” from the region, suggesting that the government would continue fighting despite the federal government declaring a ceasefire.
Tigrayan forces were conducting “mop-up” operations on Tuesday against forces in the Ethiopian government to retreat from the capital of the Mekelle region and regain control of the city “100 percent”.
“The active engagement with Mekelle ended twenty-five minutes ago,” Getachew Reda Tigray, a spokesman for the People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters via satellite phone. “Our forces are continuing in the south, in the east.”
A spokesman for the prime minister, a military spokesman and the head of the government’s emergency working group in Tigray did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A witness told Reuters that Eritrean forces – which have been fighting alongside Ethiopian troops – are no longer visible in the Shire town of Tigray.
After the retreat, the Tigrayan forces were fighting the territorial gains made by the Tigrayan forces fighting the Ethiopian government and its allies.
The witness, who was not named for security reasons, said Eritrean soldiers had not been seen since Monday night. A second resident confirmed that there was a large movement of Eritrean troops from Shire to a town north.
Serious blow
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent federal troops to Tigray last November to overthrow the TPLF government. He said the move was in response to attacks by the TPLF on federal army camps and promised victory would be swift.
But nearly eight months later, the operation suffered a severe blow when rebel troops entered Mekell on Monday, sparking celebrations as street soldiers and members of the interim regional government appointed by Abiy fled.
The Abiy government announced on Monday night that this was the case proclaiming a “unilateral ceasefire” – even if there is no immediate response from the TPLF.
“The Tigray government and army will perform all the tasks necessary to ensure the survival and security of our people,” a TPLF document said. “The Tigray government is calling on our people and the Tigray army to intensify the fight until our enemies completely abandon Tigray.”
Guerrilla warfare
Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan, reported from neighboring Khartoum in Sudan, has admitted that the federal government has announced a ceasefire that Ethiopian national defense forces are not in a position like a week ago.
“Let’s not forget that Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed – about three weeks after the attack on the Tigray region began on November 28 – announced that the war was largely over, with stability and [new] government, ”Morgan said.
“Then he didn’t announce a ceasefire. The Tigray Liberation Movement said it would continue to fight despite the guerrilla war, which apparently took place a few months after Abiy’s announcement. “
Although Tigray’s defense forces had not held large cities and towns for months, local leaders were repeatedly proud that they were regrouping in remote rural areas.
Last week, they launched a major offensive that coincided with Ethiopia’s hopeful national elections, even though much of the country was not in Tigray.
The results of the polls have not yet been announced, but it is expected that Abiy will be given a formal order.
“Difficult” path to peace
The cruel war in Tigray has led to massacres, widespread sexual violence and other abuses.
The United Nations has warned that the conflict has affected hundreds of thousands of people to the brink of starvation.
When the ceasefire was announced, the federal government said it would last until the end of the current “agricultural season” and intended to facilitate agricultural production and distribution of aid by allowing rebel fighters to “return to a peaceful path”.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday that he had spoken to Abiy, the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner, and that he “hoped to effectively disrupt the enemy.”
He said the recent events in Tigray are “very worrying”, saying “once again there is no military solution to the crisis”.
Britain, the United States and Ireland have called for a public emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, which could take place on Friday, diplomatic sources said.
The Security Council has not held a public hearing on Tigray since the outbreak of the war, with many African countries, China, Russia and other nations considering the crisis as an internal affair in Ethiopia.
Throughout the fighting, Abiy has had military support from troops in Eritrea and the Ethiopian Amhara region, which borders Tigray in the south.
The involvement of these forces will “complicate the overall application of the temporary ceasefire, which so far appears to be a unilateral move by the federal government,” said Connor Vasey, Eurasia Group’s risk advisory adviser.
If discussions about a possible political solution go ahead, “it’s likely to be difficult and lengthy,” Vasey said.
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