Ethiopia’s parliament has taken a significant step towards achieving peace in the north of the country by removing the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) from its official list of terrorist organizations.
The move is expected to strengthen the November 2022 peace deal between the TPLF and the federal government.
The parliament declared via a Facebook statement that it had passed a resolution to remove the TPLF from the terrorist list, with the majority of the votes in favor of this decision.
During the deliberation of the proposal, it was emphasized that lifting the TPLF’s terrorist status was crucial in ensuring the implementation of the peace accord between the TPLF and the federal government.
The TPLF, which was once a dominant force in Ethiopian politics, was officially designated a terrorist organization in May 2021, following the outbreak of a two-year conflict. The conflict saw the TPLF attempt to march on the capital, only to be repelled by forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
As per the conditions of the peace agreement inked in Pretoria, South Africa, the TPLF committed to disarming in exchange for the re-establishment of Tigray’s accessibility. Throughout the conflict, Tigray had been disconnected from the rest of the world, resulting in acute scarcity of food, fuel, cash, and medication.
Despite the resumption of certain fundamental services and aid provisions to Tigray following the peace agreement, access to the region with a population of six million remains limited. Therefore, it is arduous to corroborate the situation independently on the ground.
The conflict broke out when the TPLF attacked military installations, prompting a major offensive by Abiy’s government with support from Eritrea. With the TPLF’s terrorist designation now lifted, there is hope that further progress can be made toward achieving lasting peace in the region.