Tigray forces in Ethiopia say 65% of fighters have left frontline after truce agreement

Tigray rebel forces' commander-in-chief on Sunday announced that well over 65 percent of his forces have "disengaged" and are withdrawing from the frontlines a month after a ceasefire agreement over Ethiopia's war-torn northern region, according to agencies. "We have started disengagement and relocation of our forces from battlelines... out of our forces, 65 percent of them have passed through this process, disengaging from battlelines and moved to designated places," General Tadesse Worede, chief of staff of Tigray's fighters, was quoted as saying.

The hostilities escalated after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed accused Tigray rebel forces of attacking federal army camps and sending troops into the region in 2020. But now, more than half of Tigrayan rebel fighters have withdrawn from the front lines in Ethiopia, General Tadesse Worede, chief of staff of Tigray's fighters noted.

“We have accomplished 65% disengagement of our army,” Tadesse Wereda, commander-in-chief of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front said in a video posted on the TPLF’s Facebook page on Dec 4.

Ethiopia, Tigray military heads agreed on Peace roadmap

A joint committee of the Ethiopian government and Tigray forces met earlier last week in the Tigray region to outline disarmament plans for a ceasefire to implement the peace deal signed last month in the two-year conflict. Ethiopia's government announced in a statement that it will allow unhindered humanitarian access to the war-ravaged region after the joint disarmament committee agreed on a truce. Top military commanders from Ethiopia and its embattled Tigray region convened to agree on the terms for the ceasefire and signed an official disarmament agreement in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi. Both the warring sides pledged to protect civilians and facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid to the region of more than 5 million people, as per the copy of the agreement that was obtained by the Associated Press.

Ethiopia's Government Communication Service announced that the committee hosted by the warring sides met in the town of Shire and officially held talks for the first time inside Ethiopia since the fighting began. The agreement that was inked later after the bilateral dialogue stated that disarmament will be "done concurrently with the withdrawal of foreign and non-(Ethiopian military) forces" from Tigray. meanwhile, in a separate communique, Ethiopia's federal authorities said that "efforts are being made to deliver humanitarian assistance to most of the Tigray region which is under (Ethiopian military) command." The African Union-led talks in Nairobi followed the cessation of hostilities in the conflict-marred region.