Internally displaced persons in Ethiopia’s Tigray region are rightfully demanding the implementation of the Pretoria Agreement, and the government should respect their rights and ensure this demand is met.
Development Diaries reports that peaceful demonstrations started on 13 January and have continued with internally displaced persons (IDPs) raising awareness about their ongoing hardships.
We understand the demonstration is to emphasise that IDPs are ‘dying of hunger and the absence of aid’.
Protesters have been vocal and chanting slogans such as ‘return us to our homes’, ‘give attention to IDPs in Sudan’, and ‘living in tents is enough’.
Ethiopia is currently facing a significant internal displacement crisis, with an estimated 4.5 million people displaced from their homes, primarily due to ongoing conflicts in regions like Tigray, Oromia, and Somali.
This has caused many to flee for safety within the country, with the majority of these displacements attributed to conflict, with a substantial portion displaced for over a year or more.
Many of these IDPs are living with families, in schools, and in some cases, camp-like settlements. Most of these locations are crowded, unsanitary, and unsafe.
The Ethiopia–Tigray peace agreement, also called the Pretoria Agreement, is a peace treaty between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that was signed on 02 November 2022, wherein both parties agreed to a ‘permanent cessation of hostilities’ to end the Tigray war.
The agreement was made effective the next day on 03 November, marking the second anniversary of the war.
While much of the fighting ended in November 2022 with the Pretoria Agreement, some parts of Tigray are still in conflict, and the civilian population is receiving limited humanitarian assistance.
Development Diaries call on the government of Ethiopia to ensure peace is fully restored across the entire Tigray region as agreed upon in the Pretoria Agreement.
We also urge the government to provide the needed assistance to enable internally displaced persons return to their homes.
Photo source: Addis Standard