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Ethiopian government sets conditions for possible talks on Tigray ceasefire | News

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The Ethiopian government has set the stage for possible ceasefire talks with leaders of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) following international diplomatic efforts to stop the escalation of enemies.

It has been the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed blocked in a year-long war with fighters in the Tigray region who have pushed the south in recent months and refused to make a possible march to the capital Addis Ababa.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Dina Mufti told reporters that one of the conditions for a possible interview on Wednesday – and stressed that it was not agreed – would be to withdraw the TPLF from the Amhara and Afar regions on the Tigray border.

“To make it a peaceful solution, they say two tangos are needed,” Dina said.

“There are conditions: First, stop your attacks. Second, leave the fields you entered [Amhara and Afar]. Third, accept the legitimacy of this government, ”he said.

“By the way, don’t get me wrong, it doesn’t say that a decision has been made to get into the negotiations,” he added.

TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda said earlier that leaving Amhara and Afar before the talks began was a “completely non-start”. Tigris forces said last week that they had apprehended Kemise, 325 kilometers (200 miles) from Addis Ababa, but the government accused the rivals of exaggerating their territorial gains and stressed that the conflict “does not reach the capital”.

The TPLF calls for an end to what the United Nations describes as the de facto humanitarian blockade of Tigray, where hundreds of thousands of people are believed to be living in conditions similar to famine.

No aid has reached Tigray by road since Oct. 18, and 364 trucks are stranded in the capital Afar “awaiting permission from authorities to move forward,” the UN said in a weekly report on the humanitarian situation on Thursday.

“It is estimated that 80 per cent of essential medicines are not available in Tigray, while most healthcare facilities are out of order due to damage and lack of supply,” he said.

Tigray’s largest hospital, Ayder Referral Hospital in the capital Mekelle, has had to close its cancer treatment program, leaving “about 500 patients without treatment,” he said.

“They live in Ethiopia, not in space”

Last week, the government imposed a state of emergency across the nation, triggering a new wave of mass arrests that have further hampered the response to aid.

About 22 UN workers have been arrested in searches by rights groups for allegedly being ethnic tigers, and nine have been arrested since Wednesday.

The UN has also sounded the alarm about 72 drivers hired by the World Food Program arrested in Afar.

The government describes these arrests as part of a legitimate effort to eliminate the TPLF.

Asked about the arrests, Dina said UN staff “should be respected by those living in Ethiopia” in the country’s law. “They live in Ethiopia, not in space. Whether they are a UN or AU employee, they will be held accountable, ”Dina added, although he admitted that“ mistakes can be made ”and that they will investigate.

Separately, the government note said all landlords have a week to provide information about their tenants to police “to assist security forces in their efforts to clean up those who threaten public safety.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera on Wednesday, the head of the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission expressed concern over the mass arrests of ethnic Tigris.

“There seems to be an ethnic element in these arrests, which worries us that in a large sense ethnic tigers have resorted to house searches and arrests,” Daniel Bekel said, adding that the state-appointed commission has monitored the arrests. “Hundreds” of people.

“I understand that the state of emergency gives the police the power to make a reasonable suspicion of arresting people, but we are concerned about the risks of the state’s emergency and its misapplication of directives,” he added.

The government says the arrests are not ethnically motivated.

“There are no systematic arrests … because of your profile,” Al Jazeera, Redwan Hussein, the state’s foreign minister, said. “People are vigilant so citizens can be in their neighborhoods and waiting for each other in the face of potential attacks. So if people see something unusual they can report it to the police, ”he said. “If the police have no good reason to suspect it, people would be released.”

Meanwhile, more than 27,500 youths have also been hired to assist in security operations in Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian Press Agency (EPA) said, according to a city official.

Higher lectures

International envoys have stepped up their efforts in recent days to end the clashes.

Jeffrey Feltman, a special envoy for the U.S. Horn of Africa, left Ethiopia on Wednesday after a several-day meeting in and around Kenya, according to officials who reported his movements.

Former Nigerian President Oasegun Obasanjo, the UA’s regional special envoy, was due to leave on Thursday after a final meeting with Abiy, authorities said. He also recently went to Mekell to meet with TPLF leaders.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Obasanjo on Wednesday and offered “strong support” to his mediation efforts, with the State Department expressing hope that there was “a window” to progress.

The growing conflict has killed thousands of civilians and forced more than two million people to flee their homes.



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