Ethiopia says Eritrean troops withdrawing from Tigray. Eritrean forces have started withdrawing from Ethiopia’s Tigray region in the north after fighting on the government’s side in a war against the region’s fugitive leaders from the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The United States, Germany, France and other G7 countries called on Friday for a swift, unconditional and verifiable withdrawal of the Eritrean soldiers, followed by a political process that is acceptable to all Ethiopians.

That statement also urged “the establishment of a clear, inclusive political process that is acceptable to all Ethiopians, including those in Tigray, and which leads to credible elections and a wider national reconciliation process”.

Ethiopia’s foreign ministry announced the withdrawal but in a rejoinder issued late on Saturday it said the G7 foreign ministers’ statement had not acknowledged key steps being taken to address the needs of the region.

“The Eritrean troops who had crossed the border when provoked by the TPLF have now started to evacuate and the Ethiopian National Defense Force has taken over guarding the national border,” it said in a statement.

Last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed admitted for the first time that troops from Eritrea entered Tigray during the conflict.

The admission came after months of denials from Ethiopia and Eritrea, even as credible accusations from rights groups and residents mounted that Eritrean soldiers have carried out massacres in Tigray.

It is not clear how many Eritrean soldiers have left. Some in Tigray assert that the Eritreans are not leaving at all. The region’s leaders have charged that Eritrean troops are sometimes dressed in Ethiopian military uniforms.

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