JOHANNESBURG, Oct 25 (Reuters) – The first formal peace talks to end two years of war between Ethiopian military and forces in the northern region of Tigray began in South Africa on Tuesday and will end on Sunday, the South African government said.
What is at stake is the opportunity to end a confrontation that has killed thousands, displaced millions and left many thousands on the brink of starvation in Africa’s most populous country right now, destabilizing the wider Horn of Africa region.
The talks, brokered through the African Union, begin as the government made significant gains on the battlefield, capturing several major Tigray towns over the past week. Read the full story
The government offensive, carried out alongside allied troops from neighboring Eritrea, has raised fears of more among civilians, prompting African, American and European leaders and even Pope Francis to call for a ceasefire and urgent talks.
South Africa “hopes that the talks will continue constructively and lead to positive end results leading to lasting peace for all other people in our costly brotherly country, Ethiopia,” said Vincent Magwenya, spokesman for South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
The African Union mediation is led by former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, with support from former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta and former South African Vice President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.
The standoff stems from grievances dating back to an era when the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), a movement-turned-political party, ruled Ethiopia’s ruling coalition.
Since that coalition lost steam at the local level in 2018, the TPLF, still tough in its northern stronghold, has feuded with the federal government headed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The government has accused the TPLF of repairing its national dominance, which it denies, while the TPLF has accused the Abiy government of oppressing the Tigrayans and over-centralizing power, which it denies.
The Tigray delegation stated that its objective in the talks in South Africa would be an early cessation of hostilities, unhindered to Tigray for humanitarian assistance and the withdrawal of Eritrean forces.
The government said it saw the talks as an opportunity for confrontation and to “consolidate the improved scenario on the ground,” allegedly referring to its army’s advances in Tigray.
The war has exacerbated other serious unrest in Ethiopia, adding to a drought, the worst in 4 decades, that has a food crisis and bankrupt the economy.
(Reporting through Anait Miridzhanian and Bhargav Acharya; Writing through Estelle Shirbon; Editing by Bernadette Baum)