Over 7,000 captured Ethiopian soldiers were paraded through the streets of Tigray by rebel forces last week after the Ethiopian government announced a unilateral ceasefire in the region.
According to the Tigray Defence Forces (TDF), the captured soldiers were marched through the streets of Tigray for four days, starting from the town of Abdi Eshir, to the Mekelle Rehabilitation Centre in the region’s capital. Africa News reported that the number of Ethiopian soldiers captured might have been exaggerated, and “they, in fact, include some Eritrean and Somali soldiers who allegedly fought on the side of the Ethiopian national army.”
The TDF is a merger of groups in Tigray, including the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), defected Ethiopian soldiers and other local militias that have been fighting against Ethiopian troops led by Prime Minister (PM) Abiy Ahmed since November.
Meanwhile, locals in Tigray have welcomed the presence of TDF militants. Africa News reported that celebrations broke out on the streets of Mekelle when rebels took control of Tigray’s capital, and people received the returning militants by waving Tigrayan flags. After the government announced a ceasefire, rebel forces in Tigray sought to take over more territory in the region. Consequently, TPLF rebels seized control of Tigray’s capital Mekelle and vowed to continue their offensive “until every square inch of territory is cleared” from government troops. So far, TPLF militants have made territorial gains in several Tigrayan towns, including Shire in northern Tigray, as Ethiopian and Eritrean forces withdrew from critical areas like Shire, Axum, and Adwa.
Moreover, the TPLF has demanded a complete withdrawal of Eritrean soldiers and fighters from the neighbouring Amhara region to “their pre-war territories” before it considers accepting the ceasefire. In a statement, the rebels said they will accept the truce if the Ethiopian government guarantees no further invasions. The militants also called for “procedures” to hold Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki accountable “for the damage they have caused” and urged the United Nations (UN) to launch an independent investigation into the “horrific crimes” carried out during the war.
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The UN aid chief, Ramesh Rajasingham, told the UN Security Council on Friday that the humanitarian situation in Tigray is worsening, as over 400,000 Tigrayans face famine-like conditions and around 1.8 million are on the brink of starvation. Rights groups have accused the Ethiopian government of deliberately trying to suffocate Tigray by denying food supplies and other aid to civilians, a claim which it has fiercely denied.
Ethiopia has been in the middle of a severe humanitarian and political crisis since November last year, when PM Ahmed ordered a military response to an attack on a federal army camp in Tigray by the TPLF. The fighting quickly boiled over into a full-scale armed invasion by Ethiopian troops, who partnered with Eritrean soldiers in their operation. Ethiopian and Eritrean forces have also been accused of committing widespread atrocities against civilians, including massacres and using rape as a weapon of war.