Disarmament by Tigrayan rebels markedly improves the likelihood that the peace framework in Ethiopia will hold, which would facilitate greater humanitarian aid flows, increased regional access to services and the eventual return of foreign investment. Tigray Peoples' Liberation Front combatants began handing over heavy weaponry to the Ethiopian military as part of its disarmament and demobilization process Jan. 10. A monitoring team including members of the TPLF, Ethiopian armed forces and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development oversaw the handoff in Agula, about 18 miles (about 30 kilometers) northeast of Mekelle, Tigray's regional capital. The military equipment included tanks, armored vehicles, heavy mortars, guns, anti-tank guns, Ural trucks and rocket-loaded cars. The civil war in Tigray broke out in November 2020 when Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive against the TPLF in response to a TPLF attack on a military base.