Mr Redwan's claims could not be independently verified as the government has severely restricted access to the region of six million people, including for journalists, since Mr Abiy sent the army there to fight the rebel Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in 2020.The government and the TPLF signed a peace deal in the South African capital Pretoria on November 2 after little more than a week of negotiations brokered by the African Union.It cannot be a condition.”Talks have been under way in the Kenyan capital Nairobi this week between representatives of the warring sides to follow up on the Pretoria deal.Estimates of casualties vary widely, with the US saying that as many as half a million have died, while the EU's foreign envoy Josep Borrell said that more than 100,000 people may have been killed.Mr Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, sent troops into Tigray on November 4, 2020 to topple the TPLF, the region's ruling party, in response to what he said were attacks by the group on federal army camps."