By Tesfa-Alem TekleDecember 28, 2022 (ADDIS ABABA) – Ethiopian Airlines on Tuesday announced the resumption of flights to Mekele, the capital of the war-torn northern Tigray region, starting on Wednesday, the first commercial flights to the region in about 18 months. “In the meantime, handing over of heavy weapons and resumption of the constitutional duty of ENDF (Ethiopian National Defense Force) in Mekele, in particular, is expected to be executed until Thursday,” said Ethiopian national security adviser Redwan Hussien on a Twitter post today. Even after a peace deal was signed, the Eritrean forces who were not signatories to the peace agreement have been accused of looting towns, raping, arresting and killing civilians in the Tigray region. The lack of Eritrean forces’ withdrawal has been an obstacle to the implementation of the peace agreement brokered by the African Union. Yesterday, the government delegation and Tigray leaders held discussions in Mekelle on a range of pressing issues including the withdrawal of Eritrean and non-federal forces from the Tigray region.

Source: Ethiopian News December 29, 2022 02:36 UTC