Rebellious Tigrayan forces are completely withdrawing from the neighbouring region of Afar in Ethiopia, a spokesperson for the Tigrayan forces told Reuters on Monday, saying he hoped it meant that desperately needed food aid could finally pour into famine-hit Tigray.
“Our forces have left all of Afar,” Getachew Reda, a spokesperson for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), told Reuters on Monday.
Reuters could not immediately independently confirm Getachew’s statement.
Afar’s police commissioner Ahmed Harif said Tigrayan forces had withdrawn from the town of Abala but were still in three of the region’s districts.
He said the forces were also in control of the highway between Abala and Tigray’s capital Mekelle, and that he was in touch with local officials and militias who were keeping him updated.
Government spokesperson Legesse Tulu could not be reached for comment.
Fighting in northern Ethiopia, which began in November 2020 in the Tigray region and spilled over into Afar last year, has eased since the federal government declared a unilateral ceasefire last month, saying it would allow humanitarian aid to enter.
See also: ‘This Is The Worst Drought In Forty Years’: Millions Of Ethiopians At Risk From Failed Rains