Ethiopia: Tigray protesters demand Eritrean troops’ withdrawal, return of displaced

Thousands of people demonstrated on Tuesday (23 May) in northern Ethiopia’s Tigray region, demanding the withdrawal of foreign troops and soldiers and the return of individuals displaced during the two-year conflict
Tigray residents demand that Ethiopia’s allies – Eritrean troops and militiamen from the neighboring Amhara region – who had stayed following the cease-fire last November, are yet to leave.

The war between government troops, their allies from neighboring Eritrea and the Amhara region on one side, and Tigrayan forces on the other, concluded a truce in November last year after killing tens of thousands of people. Millions were forced out from their homes, including hundreds of thousands from land disputed by Tigray and Amhara, whose security forces and fighters continue to occupy the area.

Also, humanitarian groups have said that soldiers from Eritrea and the Amhara region continue to occupy northern Ethiopian regions. Eritrean government has declined to comment on the matter. The peace deal has held since November, with both sides acknowledging progress in implementing key provisions. But despite positive developments in the aftermath of the peace agreement signing, many thorny issues arose as potential obstacles in ensuring a lasting peace, most notably the contestation over Amhara-occupied territory in western Tigray, which is claimed by both Amharan and Tigrayan authorities and the presence of Eritrean forces in the territory.