Renson Mwakandana
For the first time in over 18 months, Ethiopian Airlines has started operating commercial flights to the war-torn Tigray region’s capital. Flights to Mekelle, according to its chief executive Mesfin Tasew Bekele, would reunite families and strengthen commercial links.
In certain places, banking and telephone services have already been restored. During the two-year conflict between the government and the Tigrayan forces, the area was virtually shut off from the rest of the world.
To discuss a peace agreement struck last month, a delegation from the Ethiopian government came to Mekelle on Monday.Debretsion Gebremichael, the head of Tigrayan forces, declared that complete peace would not return until Eritrean troops and militias of the ethnic Amhara left the area.
He said that it was inappropriate for the majority of Tigray to be tranquil when murders took place in other areas. Eritrea joined the conflict on the side of the Ethiopian government, but it was excluded from the African Union’s peace negotiations.
A Belgian-led academic team estimates that between 385,000 and 600,000 civilians have perished since the conflict began in November 2020 as a result of starvation, poor access to healthcare, and violence.
