Peace talks between the Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF rebels begin in South Africa

Oct. 25 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The peace talks between the Government of Ethiopia and the rebels of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Tigray (TPLF), sponsored by the African Union, began on Tuesday in South Africa and are scheduled to last until the weekend.

A spokesman for the South African president, Cyril Ramaphosa, has indicated that the negotiations could end on Sunday and has expressed his hope that they have a “successful outcome that leads to a lasting peace” in the African country.

The Ethiopian delegation is led by Redwan Hussein, national security adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, and Justice Minister Gedion Timotheos, according to information from the Daily Maverick news portal. Representing the rebels will be Getachew Reda, TPLF spokesman, and Army General Tsadkan Grebetansae.

These are the first formal negotiations held between the parties, immersed in an armed conflict in the Tigray region, in the north of the country, for two years. In early October, the rebels agreed to send a negotiating team to South Africa.

The United States special envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, has indicated that he is also participating in the talks, which are represented by the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), according to the television network South African News24.

Hammer’s presence comes despite protests in the United States by Ethiopian and Eritrean citizens, who accuse the country of interfering in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.

Before the start of the negotiations, he has met with several high officials, including the President of Kenya, William Ruto, the former Kenyan President Uhuru Kennyatta and representatives of civil society and the Ethiopian Government, among others.

The conflict in Tigray broke out in November 2020 after an attack by the TPLF against the main Army base, located in Mekelle, after which Abiy ordered an offensive against the group after months of political and administrative tensions. A “humanitarian truce” is currently in force, although both sides have accused each other of preventing the delivery of aid.

The TPLF has accused Abiy of stirring up tensions since he came to power in April 2018, when he became the first Oromo to take office. Until then, the TPLF had been the dominant force within the ethnically based coalition that had governed Ethiopia since 1991, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF). The group opposed Abiy’s reforms, seeing them as an attempt to undermine his influence.