World News

UA envoy warns Ethiopian talks will fail without ceasefire | African Union News

[ad_1]

Olusegun Obasanjo, who is leading the international push to end the savage conflict, calls on the warring parties to halt military operations.

Olusegun Obasanjo, the special envoy for the African Union’s African Branch, expressed hope that the talks could end Ethiopia’s one-year war, but warned that “these talks cannot be achieved” without an immediate ceasefire.

The former Nigerian president is leading an international push to end a savage conflict that has cost thousands of lives and displaced more than two million people in the face of conditions similar to hundreds of thousands of famines.

In addition to Obasanjo, who on Thursday left Ethiopia after meeting with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group, U.S. special envoy Jeffrey Feltman also visited the country last week for talks.

Meanwhile, Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has also been involved in regional mediation efforts, arrived in Ethiopia on a surprise one-day visit on Sunday, where Abiy posted photos of the couple on Twitter.

Obasanjo said in a statement that he was “optimistic” that common ground for a peaceful resolution of the conflict could be guaranteed.

But as fighting has intensified in recent weeks, he has warned that “these conversations cannot take place in an environment aggravated by military enemies.”

“That is why I call on the leadership of all sides to stop their military offensives. That will allow for dialogue to continue. ”

His comments came ahead of US Secretary of State Antony Blink’s visit to the three African nations, backed Obasanjo’s mediation efforts and threatened to impose sanctions on the Abiy government and the TPLF for failing to hold talks.

He established Ethiopia on Thursday conditions For possible talks with the TPLF, including stopping attacks and withdrawing from the Amhara and Afar regions bordering the northern Tigray region.

“There are conditions: First, stop your attacks. Second, leave the fields you entered [Amhara and Afar]. Third, accept the legitimacy of this government, ”Ethiopian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Dina Mufti told reporters on Thursday.

But TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda said earlier that leaving Amhara and Afar before the talks began was a “completely no-start”. Tigris forces said earlier this month that they had captured Kemise, 325 kilometers (200 miles) from the capital Addis Ababa, and threatened to go there.

The government, however, has accused the TPLF of exaggerating their territorial gains and stressed that the conflict “does not reach the capital”.

The TPLF also 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.

Abiy sent troops to Tigray last November to launch the TPLF, which he said was a response to attacks by rebels in army camps.

Although the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner promised a quick victory, by the end of June the TPLF had recaptured most of Tigray before expanding Amhara and Afarra.



[ad_2]

Source link

Related Articles

Back to top button