The Ethiopian government has announced that it has established a National Rehabilitation Commission focused on disarmed Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) fighters who have been fighting the government for.
It is said that the commission aims to help disarming TPLF fighters, in accordance with the Pretoria Agreement, transition to civilian lives and integration to the society, Benalf Andualem, Minister for Peace said in a relevant meeting on Saturday.
The number of TPLF that are disarming is unspecified. Whether the government is planning to make financial support or skills training programs, it is unspecified.
When the TPLF launched an attack on the Northern Command of the Ethiopian Defense Force in November, it was believed to have well over 500,000 fighters in the form of special and militia forces.
A modest estimate from authorities who were involved in the peace negotiation between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF put the number of losses to about one million – both in the combat zone and outside of it.
Apart from the new rehabilitation program, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government has restored social services in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
Olusegun Obasanjo, African Union Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa and the key figure in brokering the peace, and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have visited Mekelle this week to assess the state of implementation of the Pretoria agreement.
Obassanjo has said that he has confirmed the distribution of humanitarian aid in the region.
MG/abj/APA