Eritrean soldiers seen leaving Shire, Ethiopia

A civilian and two aid workers told Reuters on Saturday that a significant number of Eritrean soldiers had fled the town of Shire in Ethiopia’s Tigray Region, where they had fought in support of government forces during a two-year civil war.

A major barrier to a durable peace is the Eritrean military’s continued presence in Tigray despite a November cease-fire agreement between Ethiopia’s government and Tigray regional forces that demands the evacuation of foreign soldiers.

It is estimated that the Tigray conflict caused tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of fatalities and compelled millions of people to leave their homes.

If the forces’ departure from Shire, one of Tigray’s biggest cities, was part of an Eritrean withdrawal from the area or merely a relocation, it was not immediately evident.

Last month, witnesses and an Ethiopian official claimed that Eritrean soldiers were evacuating Shire and two other significant towns, but many of them ended up staying.

Yemane Gebremeskel, the minister of information for Eritrea, did not immediately respond to demands for comment.

A Shire local claimed that from early in the morning until around 5 p.m. on Friday, Eritrean convoys could be observed departing the town.

The resident, who begged not to be recognised for safety reasons, stated, “I have counted 300 cars.” “They took their big weaponry with them as well.”

A Shire-based aid worker who also asked to be anonymous told Reuters that he had spotted hundreds of military vehicles travelling north near the border. He claimed that by Friday night, all Eritrean soldiers in town appeared to have fled.

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A second relief worker reported that while many Eritrean cars had left Shire, several soldiers had stayed behind.

Redwan Hussien, a member of the government’s negotiation team and the national security advisor to the Ethiopian prime minister, did not respond to a request for comment from Reuters.

Neither did Getachew Reda, a spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

Residents and human rights organisations charged Eritrean forces with committing a number of atrocities throughout the conflict, notably the 24-hour massacre of hundreds of civilians in the town of Axum in November 2020. The claims were refuted by Eritrea.

The TPLF, which commands the Tigrayan army, is seen as Eritrea’s nemesis. In the years when the TPLF controlled the federal government, Eritrea and Ethiopia engaged in a border conflict between 1998 and 2000.

Reuters