Ethiopian parliament delists TPLF from terrorist designation

ADDIS ABABA, MARCH 23, 2023 (SUDANS POST) – Ethiopia’s parliament on Wednesday removed the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) from an official list of terrorist organizations.

The parliament described the move as a key step in the peace process following the two-year conflict in the country’s north.

“The house has approved the decision to lift the TPLF’s terrorist designation with a majority vote,” the parliament said in a statement on Facebook and seen by Sudans Post.

It said the move will strengthen the November 2022 peace deal between the TPLF and the federal government.

“It was remarked during the discussion of the draft decision that lifting TPLF’s terrorist designation is indispensable to uphold the peace agreement held between the federal government and TPLF.”

The TPLF was officially designated a terrorist organization in May 2021, six months after the war erupted.

The decision by the parliament was made as per article 2(c) of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement for a lasting peace between the government of Ethiopia and TPLF, which was signed in Pretoria on November 03, 2022.

Since the deal’s signing, there has been some resumption of basic services and aid deliveries to Tigray, which has faced dire shortages of food, fuel, cash and medicines since outbreak of the deadly conflict.