To many observers, this withdrawal might translate into a ceasefire after 13 months of war.

In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and UN Security Council President Abdou Abarry, Debretsion Gebremichael, the leader of Tigray's region, said he had "ordered those units that are outside the borders of Tigray to withdraw to the borders of Tigray with immediate effect."

Gebremichael said he has listened to the call to withdraw from both the international community and the Ethiopian federal government.

As a result, Gebremichael added, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) believed that "their bold act of withdrawal will be a decisive opening act for peace".

With the possible cessation of hostilities glimmering at the end of the tunnel, Gebremichael says he hopes to commence peace negotiations

Since November 2020, Tigrayan forces and Ethiopia's federal government have been locked in mortal combat, a conflict which began when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive in Tigray following drawn disputes over governance of the region.

As soon as the conflict erupted, millions were displaced and, later, thousands were left as famine stalked the region and thereby fueled a fresh wave of atrocities.

According to human rights groups, civilians became “collateral damage” in the conflict as many were targeted and killed.

These human rights groups added that soldiers from neighboring Eritrea had joined the fight on the side of government forces to heighten a human rights catastrophe. Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy, however, says all these reports are false.

Gebremichael has asked the UN diplomats to give their "full backing to an immediate cessation of hostilities followed by negotiations," and called on the UN Security Council to "establish a mechanism to ensure the immediate and veritable cessation of all forms of hostilities" and "the total withdrawal of all external forces" in the region.

In his letter to the UN, the Tigrayan leader also requested that a no-fly zone be established for hostile aircraft over Tigray.

He, however, said flights for humanitarian and civil purposes should be allowed to continue. In a request that is sure to rub the government the wrong, he also asked for the imposition of arms embargoes on Ethiopia and Eritrea.

On the subject of food supplies to the region during the conflict, Gebremichael expressed disappointment that the international community -- including the United Nations –did not supply food to the areas hit by famine.

"We trust that you and the Security Council will redouble your efforts to ensure that the war crime of starvation is stopped, and aid provided," Gebremichael said.

Source: CNN