"We have just completed the withdrawal of our forces from both Amhara and Afar regions," said Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the political party controlling most of the northerly region of Tigray. Debretsion said he hoped the Tigrayan withdrawal would force the international community to ensure that food aid could enter Tigray. In June, the Ethiopian and Eritrean militaries withdrew from Tigray after reports of mass killings of civilians, gang rapes and blocking of aid supplies. In July, Tigrayan forces invaded Afar and Amhara. The Ethiopian military launched an offensive at the end of November that pushed the Tigrayan forces back hundreds of kilometres.

Source: The North Africa Journal December 20, 2021 18:07 UTC