New round of peace talks between Ethiopia, Tigray reps
A new round of talks has begun between Ethiopia’s government and Tigray regional representatives to work out military and other details of last week’s signing of a “permanent” cessation of hostilities in a conflict thought to have killed hundreds of thousands of people
New round of peace talks between Ethiopia, Tigray reps
Show all 6Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A new round of talks began Monday between Ethiopia’s government and Tigray regional representatives to work out military and other details of last week’s signing of a “permanent” cessation of hostilities in a two-year conflict thought to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The meetings in Kenya involve the military commanders of both sides along with the lead political negotiators. Issues to be discussed include how to monitor the deal, disarming Tigray forces and the resumption of humanitarian aid access and basic services to Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which has been cut off for months.
“Maybe by the end of this week or the middle of next week” trucks of humanitarian aid will be allowed to go in, the Ethiopian government’s lead negotiator, Redwan Hussein, told journalists. The Tigray lead negotiator, Getachew Reda, said the delivery of aid would increase confidence in the talks.
An official familiar with the talks hosted by the Kenyan government says they are expected to continue through Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Already, a communications channel has been established between the two sides to address any incidents “as both recognize the challenge of fully communicating with all their units to stop fighting,” the official said.
Those facilitating and attending the talks include African Union envoy and former Nigerian president Olesegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and Nigerian, South African and Kenyan military officers. The United States and the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development are observers.
Kenyatta said they are “very hopeful next time we’ll be in (the Tigray regional capital) for our meeting” and that both sides will “ultimately celebrate together in Addis Ababa," Ethiopia's capital.
Over the weekend, the Ethiopian government's lead negotiator told diplomats that “we've sustained colossal damage” and that the finance minister has estimated the country will require nearly $20 billion to rebuild. “We'll quickly fix both telecoms and electricity soon” to the Tigray region, he said.
On humanitarian aid to a region where health workers and the United Nations and partners have reported even basic medical supplies running out, Redwan said that “the only hiccup we have is ... it is still risky to allow flights until commanders meet to assess the situation.” If the military commanders agree on a timeline, the government believes that once the government controls the airspace and airports in Tigray fully, then “the entire Tigray region would be accessible for aid” by road and air, he said.
Neighboring Eritrea, whose forces have fought alongside Ethiopian ones, is not a party to the peace talks, and last week's agreement doesn't mention the country directly. Redwan in his briefing noted that Ethiopia's borders and airspace had been violated during the conflict, “so we’re busy fighting each other, we’re busy undermining each other. That paved the way for a third party to undermine us further.”
He didn't mention Eritrea but added that “we may also have a third party which may not be interested in this peace process.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.