NAIROBI (Somaliguardian) – The government of Eritrea’s president Asaias Afwerki has admitted presence of its troops in the embattled Tigray region in Ethiopia’s north for the first time in nearly six months and pledged immediate withdrawal.
In a letter addressed to the United Nations Security Council, Eritrea said it was dismayed “by the unwarranted statements made by the US Permanent Representative to the UN during the closed UNSC Session and pointed out that OCHA’s “unconstructive role” is “unfortunate and unacceptable”.
It continued to add that deployment of its forces in northern Ethiopia came after Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) had launched an “provoked” offensive to neutralize Ethiopia’s army and subsequently invade Eritrea.
“Eritrea and Ethiopia have agreed – at the highest levels – to embark on the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and the simultaneous redeployment of Ethiopian contingents along the international boundary,” the statement reads.
“Eritrea avails of this occasion to thank UNSC member States who have insisted on adherence to established norms in this case too.”
It comes a few days after the United Nations accused Eritrea’s forces of being responsible for atrocities committed in the region and stated that there was no evidence of the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from the war-hit northern Ethiopian region.
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