refugees in Sudan demand the departure of Eritreans to “find peace”

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The humanitarian situation remains very fragile in Tigray, such as the truce signed on November 3. At issue: the presence of Eritrean forces since the start of the conflict. Tigrayan refugees in Sudan are outraged, calling on Eritreans to leave the territory.

With our special envoy to al-Hashaba, Elliott Brachet

In Sudan, where nearly 46,000 Tigrayans have been living in refugee camps for two years, the hopes aroused by the peace agreements between the Ethiopian government and the authorities of Tigray quickly faded to give way to doubts. Because the peace accords do not mention the involvement of Eritrean forces, although numerous reports indicate that their abuses continue in northern Tigray, risking derailing the fragile negotiated peace.

In a small restaurant located in the middle of the al-Hashaba camp, a dozen men seated on plastic chairs have their eyes riveted on a television. On screen, reports broadcast by a Tigrayan channel show fleeing civilians. ” The peace was signed a month ago. But in Golo Makhada, east of Tigray, Eritrean forces have displaced 90 000 peoplefulminates Haftom Tesfai, refugee in Sudan. They killed 81 people and kidnapped 48. All their properties are being looted. Eritreans do not want the peace agreement, they are doing everything so that it is not applied on the ground. »

These refugees call on international mediators, led by the United States, to guarantee the peace process and put pressure on Abiy Ahmed. But for Mabrahtu Weldo, a farmer from Aksum in Tigray, it is impossible to trust the Ethiopian Prime Minister who has allied with Eritrea: “ Abiy Ahmed agreed with a man without faith or law. [Le président érythréen] Issaias Afwerki is a dangerous man who is destabilizing the whole region. If the Eritrean army does not withdraw, there will be no peace. All my relatives have been killed by their weapons in this war, they exterminated our people. Let them all get out so we can find peace »

The Tigray People’s Liberation Front insists that the disarmament of Tigrayan forces will only take place once foreign and non-federal troops withdrew from the area. Visiting Addis Ababa, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres reiterated his full support for the full implementation of the truce.

Read also : In Ethiopia, two years of bloody war

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