Ethiopian federal government delegation heads to Tigray

A delegation from the Ethiopian federal government is on its way to the northern region of Tigray to oversee the implementation of last month’s peace agreement, the government communication service has said.

This is the first high-level federal delegation that has travelled to Tigray in two years, the government said on Monday. Tagesse Chafo, the speaker of the House of Representatives, is leading the delegation.

“This gesture is an attestation to the peace agreement getting on the right track and progressing,” the statement said.

The federal government and Tigrayan forces signed an agreement to permanently cease hostilities on November 2, after two years of fighting that killed thousands and displaced millions.

A follow-up agreement on the disarmament of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters was signed later that month in Kenya.

Addis Ababa and Tigray’s rebel forces agreed to create a joint monitoring body to ensure the November peace deal to end the brutal war is respected by all sides.

Among the terms of the agreement was a provision to establish a monitoring and compliance mechanism so that both sides could be confident the truce was being honoured, and any violations addressed. Humanitarian access guarantees and entry of the Ethiopian military into the Tigrayan capital of Mekelle were also part of the follow-up deal.