3 yıl önce

Foreign envoys optimistic over ending Ethiopia war through dialogue

The UN has warned that the risk of Ethiopia spiralling into a widening civil war was "only too real" as diplomatic efforts continue to resolve the crisis through dialogues.

AP

A yearlong conflict between Ethiopian government and TPLF rebels has killed thousands and pushed many more into desperate conditions in the vast east African nation.

Foreign envoys have been scrambling to end Ethiopia's yearlong war, hoping an African Union-led push can bring about a cessation of hostilities before a feared rebel march on the capital.

Jeffrey Feltman, Washington's special envoy for the Horn of Africa, returned to Ethiopia for a late-night meeting with his AU counterpart, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, the US State Department said on Monday.

"We believe there is a small window of opening to work with (Obasanjo)," spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

Last week, Feltman met top Ethiopian officials before travelling to Kenya to see President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been closely involved in regional mediation efforts.

"We have engaged with the TPLF as well," Price said, referring to the Tigray People's Liberation Front rebel group.

"We are engaging with the parties to try and put them on a path to a cessation of hostilities."

Dialogue initiative

The UN has also tried to rally support for Obasanjo's initiative to end a conflict that has killed thousands of people, displaced two million and inflicted atrocities and starvation on civilians.

UN emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths has called for peace following a weekend visit to Tigray's regional capital Mekele, where he met with TPLF leaders.

"I implore all parties to heed the UN secretary general's appeal to immediately end hostilities without preconditions, and reiterate the UN's full support" for Obasanjo's efforts, he said.

Briefing the African Union's 15-member security body on Monday, Obasanjo expressed optimism that progress was in the offing.

"All these leaders here in Addis Ababa and in the north agree individually that the differences opposing them are political and require political solution through dialogue," he said, according to a copy of his statement.

"This, therefore, constitutes a window of opportunity that we can collectively tap," he added.