#ASDailyScoop: Eritrea summons British envoy for remarks by Ambassador in Ethiopia on troops’ withdrawal

UK Ambassador to Ethiopia Darren Welch in Mekelle. Photo: Tigray TV

Addis Abeba – The Director General of Eritrea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned yesterday the British Charge d’Affaires a.i. in Asmara, Eritrea’s capital.

According to Yemane G/Meskel, Eritrea’s Minister of Information, the Charge d’Affaires a.i. was summoned by Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry to “convey strong message to Whitehall on unwarranted remarks of [the] British Ambassador to Ethiopia during his recent visit to Mekelle apparently endorsing TPLF’s irredentist claims.”

A delegation led by Sarah Montgomery, the UK Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, was accompanied by Darren Welch, the UK Ambassador to Ethiopia, for a visit to Mekelle, the capital of the Tigray region, on Wednesday this week.

In an an interview with the local Tigray TV, Ambassador Welch spoke on the importance of the full implementation of the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (CoHA), which, among others, calls for the withdrawal of foreign and non-ENDF forces from Tigray regional state. The Ambassador further stated that the UK supports these calls and urges the complete withdrawal of Eritrean forces.

In the war in Tigray region, Eritrean forces have committed atrocities against Tigrayan civilians, which has been confirmed by the Ethiopian government, and reported by multiple international human rights organizations, as well as the state backed Ethiopian Human Rights Commission (EHRC), which said Eritrean forces committed “grave human rights violations and an attack against civilians in Axum city, Tigray region.

Despite the CoHA however, Eritrean forces remained in occupation of parts of North-Western and Eastern Tigray where they are accused of continued atrocity crimes. AS