Mediators between Ethiopia's federal government and authorities in the Tigray region, embroiled until last month in a brutal war, are stepping up efforts to enforce a truce as relations between the two sides inch closer towards normality.
The Nov. 2 ceasefire quieted a two-year conflict that killed tens of thousands and displaced millions in the Horn of Africa country, but implementation of parts of the deal has been slower than hoped.
Humanitarian workers in Tigray say troops from neighboring Eritrea — which should have withdrawn under the terms of the truce — are still present in several towns there, a region where millions remain hungry and needing aid.
Eritrea's government has not commented.
Both the issue of Eritrean forces and the restoration of services and humanitarian aid to Tigray were expected to be in the agenda of a monitoring team being set up by the mediators.
The mediators were gathering in Tigray's capital Mekelle, Nuur Mohamud Sheekh, spokesperson for the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development, said on Thursday.
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