Evidence of the signed peace treaty in Ethiopia between the Federal Government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) is starting to appear as the Tigray capital Mekele has been reconnected to the power grid, the national electricity company announced Tuesday evening. Humanitarian aid is also trickling back into the region.
Mekele, the capital of Tigray in the north of Ethiopia, has been reconnected after more than a year of being cut off due to the war taking place in the region between the Ethiopian federal government and Tigrayan rebels. The announcement comes just more than a month after the parties signed a peace agreement.
The Tigrayan people have been deprived of numerous basic services such as electricity, fuel, telecommunications and even humanitarian aid due to the war between the government and the TPLF.
Steps towards peace
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said on 15 November that authorities were working to restore telecommunications and electricity to some affected areas, which was not explicitly included in the agreement.
It has also been reported that the fighting had stopped with the TPLF reporting that they had "disengaged" 65% of their fighters and "started to collect heavy weapons and gather them in one place".
"In terms of implementing the agreement, we have taken a step forward," said Tadesse Worede, Tigrayan commander on Saturday.
It has also been reported that medical supplies and aid have started trickling back into Tigray after being blocked from entering the region. However, it still falls significantly short of meeting the desperate needs in the north of Ethiopia.
More than two million Ethiopians have been displaced while hundreds are experiencing extreme levels of food insecurity. Preventable diseases have also run rampant in the absence of medical supplies and humanitarian assistance.
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One party involved in the war continues to create tension. The Eritrean army, which was an ally of the federal army during the conflict, is still active in the region of Tigray with regularly reported cases of abuses against Tigrayan civilians attributed to them.
While it looks as though the Ethiopian government and the TPLF are moving forward, there is still controversy surrounding the presence of Eritrea in the Tigray region. Eritrea was absent at the peace talks.
