Ethiopian Tigray rebels said Sunday they were ready for a ceasefire and would accept an African Union-led peace process, removing an obstacle to negotiations with the government to end nearly two years of brutal warfare.
The announcement came amid a flurry of international diplomacy after fighting flared up in northern Ethiopia last month for the first time in several months, torpedoing a humanitarian ceasefire.
“The government of Tigray stands ready to engage in a robust peace process under the auspices of the African Union,” the Tigrayan authorities said in a statement.
“Moreover, we stand ready to adhere to an immediate and amicable cessation of hostilities to create an enabling atmosphere.”
The Ethiopian government has previously said it is ready for unconditional talks “anytime, anywhere”, brokered by the Addis Ababa-based AU.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has so far vehemently opposed the role of AU envoy to the Horn of Africa Olusegun Obasanjo, protesting his “closeness” to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat issued a statement hailing the development as a “unique opportunity to restore peace” and called on “both parties to urgently work towards an immediate ceasefire and engage in direct talks.” .
In a statement, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on “the parties to seize this opportunity for peace and to take steps to end the violence once and for all and to choose dialogue”.
He said the UN stands ready to support the AU-led peace process.
Taye Dendea, Minister of State for Peace in Ethiopia, described the TPLF announcement on Twitter as a “beautiful development” but insisted that “the so-called TDF (Tigray Defense Forces) must be disarmed before peace talks begin.” Clear attitude!”
– Striving for a “credible” peace process –
The TPLF statement, which coincided with Ethiopia’s New Year, did not mention any preconditions, although it said Tigrayans expected a “credible” peace process with “mutually acceptable” mediators as well as international observers.
TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael proposed a conditional ceasefire earlier this month, calling for “unrestricted humanitarian access” and the restoration of basic services in Tigray, which is suffering from food shortages and a lack of electricity, communications and banks.
In a letter to Guterres, he also called for the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from across Ethiopia and the withdrawal of troops from western Tigray, a disputed region claimed by both Tigrayans and Amharas, the country’s second-largest ethnic group.
Sunday’s statement said a negotiating team, which included TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda and Gen. Tsadkan Gebretensae, a former Ethiopian army chief now at Tigray’s central military command, “stands ready to be deployed immediately.”
Debretsion announced last month that two rounds of confidential face-to-face meetings between senior civilian and military officials had taken place, the first confirmation of direct contacts from both warring sides.
– ‘Choose conversations instead of fights’ –
The AU’s Faki had held talks with both Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president, and US envoy to the Horn of Africa Mike Hammer on Saturday.
“May the parties to the conflict have the courage to prioritize talks over fighting and engage in an African Union-led process leading to a lasting peace,” Hammer said in a New Year’s message to Ethiopians on Sunday.
Since hostilities resumed on August 24, fighting has raged on multiple fronts in northern Ethiopia, with both sides blaming the other for firing first and breaking a March truce.
The latest fighting first erupted on Tigray’s southeastern border, but has since spread to areas west and north of the original clashes. The TPLF accused Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of launching a massive joint offensive on Tigray on 1 September.
The United Nations said Thursday renewed fighting had halted much-needed aid shipments to Tigray by both road and air.
The March ceasefire had allowed aid convoys to travel to Tigray’s capital, Mekele, for the first time since mid-December.
Countless civilians have been killed since war broke out in Africa’s second most populous country, and millions of people in northern Ethiopia are in need of emergency assistance.
Abiy, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, sent troops to Tigray to overthrow the TPLF in November 2020 in response to attacks by the group on federal army camps, he said.
The TPLF retook most of Tigray in a surprise comeback in June 2021, expanding into Afar and Amhara before fighting reached a stalemate.
