Ethiopian rebels in Tigray said on Sunday they were ready for a ceasefire and would accept an African Union-led peace process, raising an obstacle to talks with the Addis Ababa government to end nearly two years of fighting.
The announcement was made following the a deluge of international diplomacy after fighting resumed in August for the first time in several months in Northern Ethiopiaending a humanitarian truce.
” The government of Tigray is ready to participate in a solid peace process under the auspices of the African Union“Said a statement from the Tigris authorities.
” Furthermore, we are ready to respect an immediate and agreed cessation of hostilities in order to create a favorable atmosphere. “
The Ethiopian government has previously said yes ready for unconditional interviews ” always and everywhere“, Under the auspices of the AU, whose headquarters are in Addis Ababa.
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The People’s Liberation Front of Tigray (TPLF) vehemently opposed the role of the AU envoy for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjoprotesting against his proximity with the Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
Taye DendeaEthiopia’s minister of state for peace described the TPLF announcement on Twitter as a ” positive development“but insisted that” the so-called TDF (Tigray Defense Forces) must be disarmed before the start of the peace talks“.
Guterres calls for the withdrawal of Eritrean troops
The TPLF instruction, which coincided with the Ethiopian new yearit does not mention any preconditions, although it indicates that the Tigrayans expect a peace process ” credible “with mediators” mutually acceptable as well as international observers.
At the beginning of the month, the leader of the TPLF, Debretsion Gebremichaeloffered a conditional truce by providing a ” free humanitarian access and the restoration of essential services in Tigray, which suffers food shortages and lack of electricity, communications and banking services.
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In a letter to the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, he also asked for the withdrawal of the fEritrean forces from all over Ethiopia and troop withdrawal from western Tigraya region disputed by the Tigers and the Amhara, the second largest ethnic group in the country.
The civilian population of Tigray in great difficulty
The fight is raging different fronts in northern Ethiopia since the resumption of hostilities on 24 August, each side accuses the other of having it fired first and breaking the march lull.
The latest clashes broke out around the southeastern border of Tigray, but have since spread to areas west and north of the original conflict zone. The TPLF accuses it of having Ethiopian and Eritrean forces launched a massive joint offensive on the Tigray September 1st.
The United Nations said Thursday that the rthe grip of the fighting had led to the cessation of deliveries of aid, including the Tigray in dire need, both on the road and by plane.
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The March truce allowed the aid convoys to reach Mekele, the capital of Tigrayfor the first time since mid-December.
An unspoken name of civilians were killed by the outbreak of the war in the second most populous country in Africa, e millions of people in the north of Ethiopia are in urgent need of assistance.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Nobel Peace Prize, sent troops to Tigray November 2020 to overthrow the TPLF in response to what he called group attacks on federal army camps.
The TPLF he recaptured most of the Tigray in a surprise response in June 2021 and expanded to Afar and Amhara, before the conflict gets bogged down.
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