Tigrayan Party’s terrorist designation is removed by Ethiopian authorities

At an extraordinary session on Wednesday, Ethiopian parliamentarians decided to revoke the Tigray People’s Liberation Front’s (TPLF) terrorist designation.

A majority of lower house lawmakers voted in favour of the action. 5 members abstained, leaving 472 members who voted against the motion.

The choice is the most recent development in a peace agreement that the Ethiopian federal government and the TPLF signed in November, ending a two-year civil war, and was mediated by the African Union.

In May 2021, just before fighting broke out between soldiers loyal to either side, Ethiopia’s federal government designated the TPLF as a terrorist group.

Thousands of people died in the battle, while millions more were displaced.

The federal government received heavy weaponry from Tigrayan troops as part of the peace agreement, and as a result, humanitarian routes have been established and crucial services to the area have resumed.

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An interim government has been established in the region until elections can be held as part of the agreement.

Many Tigrayan officials have already been charged with terrorism under the classification, including Getachew Reda, who the TPLF chose to head the Interim Regional Government.

These accusations are also anticipated to be dropped, according to Ethiopian media sources.

A TPLF spokeswoman wasn’t available for comment right away.

All of the combatants, including the Eritrean and local Amhara troops, have been charged with war crimes by rights organisations.

Atrocities reportedly perpetrated by all parties to the conflict were denounced on Monday by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Ethiopia at the beginning of March. He also applauded efforts to pursue transitional justice.

Blinken’s comments was deemed offensive and out of place by the Ethiopian government.