Ethiopian crisis: Team to monitor peace agreement inaugurated
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - A three-member mission was inaugurated on Thursday under the auspices of the African Union (AU) to monitor, verify and enforce the 2 November Cessation of Hostilities agreement that ended a two-year bitter war between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front.
The Monitoring, Verification and Compliance Mission will monitor the implementation of the civil and military agreement in accordance with the peace deal, the state-run Ethiopian News Agency (ENA) reported.
The members are: Major General Stephen Radina from Kenya, Colonel Rufai Umer Mairiga from Nigeria, and Colonel Tefo Sekole from South Africa.
The team was inaugurated as the implementation of the agreement brokered by the AU gathers pace to restore normal life to the war-ravaged Tigray region in northern Ethiopia.
Those present at the in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray region, included former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Executive Secretary of regional grouping, Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Workneh Gebeyehu.
The Cessation of Hostilities agreement was signed in Pretoria, South Africa, on 2 November after AU-led talks brokered by former President Obasanjo, former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African Deputy President, Dr. Phumuzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
ENA said the team supervised the handing over of government institutions in Mekelle to the Federal Police.
It quoted the head of the mission, Major General Radina as saying the process was an important way to understand the implementation of the peace agreement.
The team would monitor the performance, verify it, and report the results to the AU.
Basic services have been returning to life in the Tigray region since the signing of the peace agreement as telecom services, operations of dozens of branches of banks, reconnection of electricity, and air transport have resumed.
Some 107,000 tons of humanitarian aid, about 1,400 tons of medicines, and 10,000 tons of non-food items have also been delivered.
Roads and other infrastructures that were damaged are being reconstructed while hospitals have started providing services, ENA reported.
The Special Envoy of the AU, former President Obasanjo, confirmed that emergency humanitarian assistance was being provided in the Tigray region and basic services had started.
He said the visit of a delegation of senior government officials led by House Speaker Tagesse Chafo to Mekelle had confirmed the commitment of the government.
Former President Obasanjo appreciated the government’s commitment to resume basic services and make humanitarian aid accessible; and thanked the leaders of both sides for the good work they had done.
He added that the AU, the people of Ethiopia, and the civil and military leaders of the two sides had played a significant role in bringing about this result.
Former President Kenyatta said: “The leaders deserve praise for this result, and we will continue to strengthen our cooperation.”
He added that the implementation of the peace agreement was a clear demonstration that it was possible to provide an African solution for Africa’s problems.
ENA said a senior leader of the TPLF, Getachew Reda, confirmed that the agreement was being implemented by both parties.
Meanwhile, the Federal Police announced that it had resumed protecting federal institutions in Mekelle, such as the airport, power stations, telecom installations and banks.
The Federal Police also said that it had been maintaining the peace of the people and helping them to return to their homes and villages.
Following the 2 November agreement, military commanders of Ethiopia and the TPLF also signed an agreement in Nairobi, Kenya, under which they made a commitment to unhindered humanitarian access and clarification of cessation of hostilities implementing arrangements.
The Ethiopian conflict started on 3 November, 2020 when the TPLF forces attacked the Federal forces in Mekelle and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed responded the following day.
There was a five-month lull in the fighting but hostilities resumed again on 24 August.
The fighting has claimed thousands of lives, displaced millions, destroyed livelihoods and created a huge humanitarian problem amidst allegations of human rights violations, including possible war crimes.
-0- PANA MA 30Dec2022
