Eritrea to Withdraw Troops from Tigray Region Ethiopia

March 26, 2021

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced that Eritrea has agreed to withdraw troops from the Tigray region of Ethiopia 

Eritrean President Isaias Afeworki and Abiy Ahmed at Asmara International Airport (photo : ENA)

Borkena

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed led a delegation on Thursday for two days working. And today, he disclosed that the Eritrean government has agreed to withdraw troops from the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

According to Abiy Ahmed, Eritrean troops entered the Ethiopian territory along the Eritrean border after TPLF attacked the Ethiopian Defense Force on November 4, 2020 and fired a rocket at Asmara.

Eritrean troops have been in control of positions the Ethiopian Defense Forces withdrew from following TPLF attack. Ethiopian Defense Force will be deployed back its position before November 4, 2020 when Eritrean troops withdraw from the area, according to Ethiopian government sources.

Ethiopia has been under pressure from the international community regarding the presence of Eritrean troops in Tigray region.

The Prime Minister has published a social media update regarding the outcome of his meeting with Eritrean president Isaias Afeworki which is shared below:

On Discussions with President Isaias Afwerki

March 26, 2021

On November 4, 2020 the TPLF criminal clique treasonously attacked the Northern Command of the Ethiopian National Defense Force (ENDF) in a foiled plan to seize power by destabilizing the nation. Attacking the Northern Command where the nation’s largest weapons depot was stationed and mercilessly killing and kidnapping members of the ENDF has drawn the federal government into a military engagement it has been provoked into.

It is to be recalled that following the attack on the Northern Command, the TPLF fired rockets into Bahir Dar and Gonder cities. Similarly, they fired rockets into Asmara, Eritrea thereby provoking the Eritrean government to cross Ethiopian borders and prevent further attacks and maintain its national security.

In our March 26, 2021 discussions with President Isaias Afwerki during my visit to Asmara, the government of Eritrea has agreed to withdraw its forces out of the Ethiopian border. The Ethiopian National Defense Force will take over guarding the border areas effective immediately.

Ethiopia and Eritrea will continue strengthening their bilateral relations and economic cooperation ambitions. We will continue building on the spirit of trust and good neighborliness between our two countries as embarked upon in 2018. In particular, restoring trust-based people to people relations among our citizens in the Tigray region and fellow Eritreans across the border is essential.