On Feb 3, 2023, a Facebook page posted an image claiming that Eritrean troops were still in the northeastern parts of the Tigray regional state. The post also said that Eritrean soldiers detained workers of international organizations.
The Facebook page has over a hundred thousand followers and the post was shared twenty-five times.
However, HaqCheck checked the image and proved that the image was old and doesn’t support the claim that Eritrean soldiers were still in Tigray.
War broke out between the Ethiopian government and Tigray Liberation Front (TPLF) on Nov 3, 2020, following months of tension.
The Eritrea Defence Forces, Amhara regional militia, and other armed forces were involved in the war alongside the federal government of Ethiopia against TPLF forces.
The belligerents signed a peace agreement in November 2022 to end the two years war. The peace agreement concluded in Pretoria asserts that TPLF forces shall surrender their weapons and foreign and non-ENDF armed forces to leave the regional state of Tigray.
The Ethiopian government and the TPLF agreed that the disarmament of heavy weapons of the TPLF should be done concurrently with the withdrawal of Eritrean and non-ENDF forces from the Tigray.
News reports indicate that Eritrean soldiers started withdrawing from Tigray last month. They left the towns of Aksum, Adwa, and Shire. Additionally, Amhara regional armed forces also reportedly left Shire town.
Yet, it is still unknown whether the non-ENDF and Eritrean troops have fully withdrawn from the Tigray regional state.
In this background, a Facebook post emerged on Feb 3, 2023, sharing an image with a claim that Eritrean soldiers had not fully withdrawn and were still in northeastern parts of Tigray.
However, HaqCheck cross-checked the claim and confirmed that the image doesn’t support the claim. The image was taken from an old publication made in May 2021. It was first published along with a news story by CNN.
Therefore, HaqCheck rendered the post False.
