Two hundred eighty combatants of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have surrendered to the Ethiopian National Defense Force Northwestern Command, ENDF said in a statement seen by APA on Monday.
The combatants also handed over more than 200 individual and group weapons, large quantities of ammunition, battlefield optical equipment and various documents to ENDF Northern Command Force.
“We don’t want to go for another round of war as the TPLF is preparing for fighting against the federal government under the defunct alliance called “Tsimdo”, comprising different armed opposition groups and the Eritrean government,” said the combatants.
Mid this year, TPLF, the Amhara Fano National Movemen, Oromo Liberation Army and the Eritrean government announced the establishment of “single national movement” known as “Tsimdo” with a primary goal of removing the federal government.
ENDF said the combatants surrendered in the Tekeze river direction of the western front, on both sides of the Tekeze Bridge.
The combatants said they had recognised that the alliance the defunct TPLF had forged with Shabia, and apparently the Eritrean government under what they described as the “Tsimdo” approach was harmful to the people of Tigray.
Among those who surrendered are commanders and leaders at different levels, including a division commander as well as battalion leaders, ENDF said.
The surrendered militants further said the defunct TPLF has shown no willingness to break away from the cycle of war and is continuing an approach that seeks to plunge the people of Tigray into deeper hardship.
The combatants also said many young people in Tigray are currently waiting for an opportunity to surrender after rejecting the rule of the illegal TPLF and choosing peace.
According to the surrendered combatants, young people who were forced into the fighting are increasingly recognising the situation and are ready to surrender when circumstances allow.
MG/as/APA