ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

Skip to main content

Ethiopian Airlines resumes flights to Tigray's capital

Children from a local martial arts and fitness center hold peace signs at a street carnival organized by the Tigray Development Association in support of the recent peace deal agreed between the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray forces, in Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region, in northern Ethiopia on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. (AP Photo) Children from a local martial arts and fitness center hold peace signs at a street carnival organized by the Tigray Development Association in support of the recent peace deal agreed between the Ethiopian federal government and Tigray forces, in Mekele, the capital of the Tigray region, in northern Ethiopia on Saturday, Nov. 26, 2022. (AP Photo)
Share
NAIROBI, Kenya -

Ethiopian Airlines on Wednesday resumed scheduled flights to Tigray's capital, Mekele, as the result of a peace agreement signed between the federal government and Tigray officials in November.

The move came a day after a federal government delegation led by the speaker of Ethiopia's parliament visited Mekele, paving the way for more engagement between the two sides that have fought a deadly war for two years in which hundreds of thousands of people have died.

"We are starting with a single flight per day for now, but we will increase it as telecom services are restored in the Tigray region," Mesfin Tasew, the Chief Executive Officer of Ethiopian Airlines, told The Associated Press.

Mesfin said the resumption of flights by Africa's largest airline to the region is expected to "enable families to reunite, facilitate the restoration of commercial activities, stimulate tourist flow and bring many more opportunities which will serve the society."

The Tigray region had been largely cut off from the rest of the world during the two-year conflict, but communications are slowly resuming as phone lines start to be restored in parts of the region.

Ethiopia's state-owned telecom provider, Ethio Telecom, also announced on Wednesday the resumption of its services to Mekele.

According to the Ethiopian prime minister's office, 28 towns including Mekele now have access to telecom services.

"Almost the entire Tigray region has been connected to national power grid," the PM's office added in a statement Wednesday.

It also said that maintenance of some 1,800 kilometres (1,120 miles) of fiber optics line is underway with around 981 kilometres (610 miles) so far completed, and some 42 banks have reopened in the past few days across Tigray.

The peace agreement calls for the resumption of basic services in Tigray, the withdrawal of non-Ethiopian military forces from the region and the gradual disarmament of Tigray fighters.

Redwan Hussein, security advisor to the Ethiopian Prime Minister, tweeted on Tuesday that the handing over of heavy weapons by Tigray forces and the resumption of an Ethiopian army presence in Mekele in particular is "expected to be executed until Thursday as per the understanding we reached in Nairobi" on Dec. 22.

But the head of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front, Debretsion Gebremichael, told reporters on Tuesday that the presence of forces from neighbouring Eritrea is an issue putting a stain on the peace process.

CTVNews.ca ÐÇ¿Õ´«Ã½

BREAKING

BREAKING

Three men were injured after a man armed with a knife entered a Montreal-area Islamic cultural centre Friday afternoon.

A 15-year-old boy who was the subject of an emergency alert in New Brunswick has been arrested.

Police have arrested an 18-year-old woman who allegedly stole a Porche and then ran over its owner in an incident that was captured on video.

Since she was a young girl growing up in Vancouver, Ginny Lam says her mom Yat Hei Law made it very clear she favoured her son William, because he was her male heir.

The parents of a teenager who died after allegedly consuming the poisonous products of a Mississauga man are now suing him, as well as several doctors involved in her care.

The search for a missing six-year-old boy in Shamattawa is continuing Friday as RCMP hope recent tips can help lead to a happy conclusion.

Local Spotlight

Getting a photograph of a rainbow? Common. Getting a photo of a lightning strike? Rare. Getting a photo of both at the same time? Extremely rare, but it happened to a Manitoba photographer this week.

They say a dog is a man’s best friend. In the case of Darren Cropper, from Bonfield, Ont., his three-year-old Siberian husky and golden retriever mix named Bear literally saved his life.

A growing group of brides and wedding photographers from across the province say they have been taken for tens of thousands of dollars by a Barrie, Ont. wedding photographer.

Paleontologists from the Royal B.C. Museum have uncovered "a trove of extraordinary fossils" high in the mountains of northern B.C., the museum announced Thursday.

The search for a missing ancient 28-year-old chocolate donkey ended with a tragic discovery Wednesday.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is celebrating an important milestone in the organization's history: 50 years since the first women joined the force.

It's been a whirlwind of joyful events for a northern Ontario couple who just welcomed a baby into their family and won the $70 million Lotto Max jackpot last month.

A Good Samaritan in New Brunswick has replaced a man's stolen bottle cart so he can continue to collect cans and bottles in his Moncton neighbourhood.

David Krumholtz, known for roles like Bernard the Elf in The Santa Clause and physicist Isidor Rabi in Oppenheimer, has spent the latter part of his summer filming horror flick Altar in Winnipeg. He says Winnipeg is the most movie-savvy town he's ever been in.