The warring sides in Ethiopia were readying Monday for peace talks in South Africa aimed at finding a peaceful solution to the brutal two-year conflict.
The African Union-led negotiations had been flagged to start Monday, after a surge in fighting that has triggered alarm in the international community and fears for civilians caught in the crossfire.
But as evening fell, there was no word from any of those involved about whether the talks had started or exactly where they would be held.
Diplomatic pressure has been mounting to bring a halt to the war in Africa’s second most populous country that has left millions in need of humanitarian aid, and according to the United States, as many as half a million dead.
Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a spokesman for the rebel authorities in Tigray, announced their delegation’s arrival in South Africa in a tweet late Sunday.
“Pressing: immediate cessation of hostilities, unfettered humanitarian access & withdrawal of Eritrean forces. There can’t be a military solution!” he added.
Addis Ababa said in a statement its delegation had left for South Africa on Monday morning, adding: “The government of Ethiopia views the talks as an opportunity to peacefully resolve the conflict and consolidate the improvement of the situation on the ground.”
But it also said its forces “have continued taking control of major urban centres in the past few days”, without identifying them.
International calls for a ceasefire and a withdrawal of Eritrean troops have grown since the AU failed earlier this month to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table.
A Western official has confirmed that previous secret talks took place organised by the United States in the Seychelles and twice in Djibouti, but gave no further information.
The return to the battlefield in August halted desperately-needed aid for Tigray’s six million people who lack food, medicine and basic services.
Tigray has also been under a communications blackout for over a year, and independent reporting from the region heavily curtailed.
The UN Security Council held a closed-doors meeting Friday to discuss the spiralling conflict, which has raised concerns about the stability of the volatile Horn of Africa region.
Source: eNCA
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