Ethiopia- Tigray peace talks start in South Africa

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa

Peace talks between an Ethiopian government delegation and rival Tigray forces started in South Africa on Tuesday and will end on Sunday, a spokesman for South Africa’s presidency said.

The peace talks are being mediated by the African Union(AU) and are the first formal ones since the war broke out two years ago.

Vincent Magwenya, a spokesman for President Cyril Ramaphosa told journalists on Tuesday that the talks have been “convened to find a peaceful and sustainable solution to the devastating conflict in the Tigray region.”

The commencement of the talks comes as pressure was mounting on the warring factions to engage in dialogue to end the crisis.

Earlier this month, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the conflict in the northern region was “spiraling out of control.”

The conflict between government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) broke out in November 2020 following disagreements over regional and federal control of the Tigray region.

The UN said this month that aid distribution had been severely hampered following an uptick in fighting since August, along with a lack of fuel and communications blackout.

Talks were initially scheduled to take place in September, but they did not start as planned.

AU on Tuesday issued a statement, saying that “the Chairperson of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat is pleased to announce the launch in South Africa of the first direct talks between the Government of the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.”

According to the statement, the talks are facilitated by Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and former Nigerian President, along with former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African Deputy President Dr Phumzile.

Representatives of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the United Nations (UN) and U.S. also participated as observers to the AU-led peace process, said the statement.