Mekelle, Jun 4, 2023 (Tigrai Television)- In an open letter issued on June 02, the Global Society of Tigray Scholars and Professionals (GSTS) said it was alarmed by the failure of the AU Monitoring and Verification and Compliance Mission (MVCM) to oversee the withdrawal of Non-ENDF Amhara and Eritrean forces from the constitutional territories of the Tigray region concurrently with the disarmament of Tigrayan forces as stipulated in the Pretoria agreement.
The society also noted that this oversight was made evident in the most recent report of the team, which stated ‘the need to accelerate the demobilization and reintegration of Tigray Armed Combatants’, failing to mention the concurrent exit of non-ENDF forces from Tigrai, as detailed in the Nairobi Declaration of the Executive Plan.
The society said it is also dismayed as the atrocities against Tigrayans continue despite the signing of the peace deal seven months ago.
GSTS stated that it strongly opposes the presence of Eritrean forces and Amhara forces in Tigrai saying it’s a palpable threat to the Pretoria peace accord and the constitution of the Ethiopian State.
The correspondence called on the Ethiopian government, the IGAD, AU, EU, the US, and the UK to “take effective measures” to ensure the “immediate, unconditional, verified and permanent withdrawal of Eritrean forces and Amhara forces” from constitutionally recognized Tigrayan territories.
The society also called for an immediate halt to the conscriptions of Amhara forces and their training by the Eritrean government.
By Saron Tsegay