Chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat has welcomed the gesture of the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces for talks aimed at ending the prolonged war that has devastated Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region.
Faki Mahamat said he was “encouraged by the early demonstration of a commitment to peace” in the talks being held in South Africa.
The first formal peace talks started in South Africa on Tuesday and is expected to end on Sunday, the South African government said.
The AU-appointed negotiators are the former presidents of Nigeria and Kenya, Olusegun Obasanjo and Uhuru Kenyatta respectively, and South Africa’s former Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The UN, US, and the East African regional bloc, Igad, had observer status at the talks, Mahamat added.
The conflict stems from rancour dating back to a period during which the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a rebel movement-turned-political party, dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition.
Since the coalition lost power at the national level in 2018, the TPLF, still powerful in its northern stronghold, fell out with the federal government led by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The government has accused the TPLF of seeking to restore its national dominance, which it denies, while the TPLF has accused the Abiy government of oppressing Tigrayans and over-concentrating power, which it denies.
According to the Tigrayan delegation, it will focus on an immediate cessation of hostilities, unfettered access to Tigray for humanitarian aid, and the withdrawal of Eritrean forces.
While the government said it views the talks as an opportunity to resolve the conflict and “consolidate the improvement of the situation on the ground”, apparently a reference to its military advances in Tigray.
