Ethiopia’s Tigray forces say they hand over heavy weapons

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — The spokesman for Tigray forces in Ethiopia says they have handed over heavy weapons as a key part of the agreement signed with Ethiopia’s government late last year to end a two-year conflict.

Getachew Reda tweeted early Wednesday that an African Union monitoring team confirmed the handover. He expressed hope it would “go a long way in expediting the full implementation of the agreement.”

The Tigray forces especially seek the withdrawal of troops from neighboring Eritrea, which has fought alongside Ethiopian forces but was not a party to the agreement. Witnesses have told The Associated Press that Eritrean fighters remain in some communities.

The United States and United Nations, citing the work of academics, have estimated that hundreds of thousands of people died in the conflict in Africa’s second most populous country.

Basic services, flights and humanitarian aid have begun to resume to the long cut-off Tigray region of more than 5 million people.