Ethiopia parliament removes rebel Tigray party from terror list

Ethiopia's parliament has removed the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) from an official list of terrorist groups, 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 on Facebook.

The move will strengthen the November 2022 peace deal between the TPLF and the federal government, it said.

"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," it said.

The TPLF, which once dominated Ethiopian politics, was officially designated a terrorist organisation in May 2021, six months after the clashes erupted.

Resumption of basic services

The conflict broke out when the TPLF attacked military installations, setting off a major offensive by Abiy's government.

During the brutal conflict, the TPLF briefly came close to marching on the capital but was beaten back by forces loyal to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Since the deal, there has been some resumption of basic services and aid deliveries to Tigray, which has faced dire shortages of food, fuel, cash and medicines. 

The fighting has killed untold numbers of civilians, displaced more than two million and left millions more in need of humanitarian aid.

Estimates of casualties vary widely, with the United States saying that as many as half a million people have died while Olusegun Obasanjo, the African Union's envoy to the region, has said it could be up to 600,000.

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