The African Union on Sunday urged the warring factions in the conflict over Ethiopia to recommit to peace talks as violence mounts in the contested Tigray region.
The town of Shire in northwest Tigray has been bombed by Ethiopian and Eritrean troops in a joint offensive for several days, with civilian casualties reported in the push against rebels from the war-torn region.
The International Rescue Committee, a charity providing aid to the stricken Tigray, announced on Saturday that one of its staff was among three civilians killed in an attack in the Shire.
UN chief Antonio Guterres has joined the United States and other Western powers in voicing grave concern at the escalating violence and its impact on civilians, calling on both sides to negotiate peace.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government and the Tigrayan authorities have accepted an invitation to talks from the AU, but negotiations, which were due to start in South Africa last weekend, have not taken place.
AU Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat said the escalation in violence was “of grave concern”.
“The Chair urges the parties to return to dialogue in accordance with their agreement for direct talks to be convened in South Africa by a high-level team led by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and with the support of the international community to commit,” he said in a statement released on Sunday but dated Saturday.
The talks were brokered by Horn of Africa envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, former South African Vice President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Diplomats suggested that logistical problems were partly responsible for the much-anticipated meeting not taking place.
The latest fighting came as US special envoy Mike Hammer arrived in Addis Ababa to urge an end to the nearly two-year war between Ethiopia, its allies and rebels led by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
Fighting resumed in August after a five-month lull, dampening hopes for a resolution to a conflict that has killed scores of civilians and has been marred by atrocities on all sides.
The return to war also halted much-needed aid in Tigray, where millions have been displaced from their homes and hundreds of thousands are at risk of starvation, according to the UN.
The conflict erupted in November 2020 when Abiy – a Nobel Peace Prize winner – sent troops to overthrow the TPLF, the ruling party in Tigray, which he accused of staging attacks on army camps.
The TPLF dominated Ethiopia’s ruling coalition for decades before Abiy came to power in 2018.
