The Technical Planning Joint Committee which is expected to outline the detailed plan for the disarmament of Tigray combatants has convened in Shire, a town in the Tigray region, the government’s communication services announced.
As per the Pretoria Peace Agreement, the Joint Committee mandated to outline the disarmament details of Tigray armed combatants has assumed its functions yesterday, November 30, 2022, according to the statement.
The committee, which includes experts from both the federal government and the Tigrayan combatants, is reported to be discussing a detailed plan for the disarmament of Tigrayan forces.
It is noted in the statement that, the "main goal of the committee is to come up with a detailed plan to address the disarmament, lodging the combatants in military bases, and other related issues."
“The joint committee assumed its duty and started working on November 30, 2022, and expected to finalize its charges in the coming few days.”
On the other side, TPLF disclosed that its combatants have started withdrawing from their positions on different battlefronts in a manner that avoids conflict. This decision is said to be part of the peace accord implementation procedure agreed upon in Kenya by military leaders of the two parties
It has been reported that the combatants have started evacuating from various battlefronts, such as those in the south, Mai Kinetal, Zalambesa, Nebelet, Kukufto, Hgumbrda, Beri-Tekhlay, and Abergele.
Following the peace talks between the federal government and the TPLF in South Africa in November 2022, the senior commanders of the belligerents met in person in Nairobi, Kenya, and mainly agreed on the issue of the disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration of the TPLF combatants and allowing unhindered access to humanitarian aid in Tigray.
The agreement in Nairobi, pursuant to Article 2(e) of the Nairobi Executive Declaration, seeks the establishment of a joint committee with two representatives from the belligerents and one representative from the African Union Monitoring and Verification Team.
“The joint committee shall be established on the date of signing of this declaration by the two commanders to work out a detailed implementation plan for the disarmament of light weapons and report within a period of 14 days with a clear plan for the process and timeline for the disarmament of the light weapons,” said the executive Declaration.
According to the peace agreement held in Pretoria, a joint committee has been established and has started working to discuss and set a detailed plan on the way to disarm the TPLF forces and other related matters, said the statement.
The statement further mentioned that coming up with detailed planning has been delayed because of technical reasons.
