US says withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Tigray part of peace agreement; threatens sanctions if agreement not heeded
A senior U.S. government official told reporters yesterday that the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA) between the federal government and representatives of the Tigray regional states signed in South Africa, Pretoria , on 02 November “calls for the withdrawal of […] not only Eritrean forces, but Amhara special forces & Afar militia that are currently in Tigray” and that the U.S will not hesitate to use sanction if the “commitments aren’t abided by.” In a special briefing session on 15 November, a senior official of US State Department recalled that military leaders of the two parties have further agreed in Nairobi on the withdrawal of foreign and non-ENDF forces from Tigray region which would be done concurrently with the disarmament of Tigrayan combatants. “This is significant because it was the first acknowledgement in essence that there are Eritrean forces operating inside of Ethiopia, and there is now a clear understanding that they are to withdraw”, the unn