Ethiopian crisis: AU reiterates call for immediate, unconditional ceasefire
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia (PANA) - The Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki Mahamat, has "strongly" called for an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and the resumption of humanitarian services as fighting intensifies in northern Ethiopia between the Government and the separatist Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
In a statement in Addis Ababa, he said he has been following with "grave concern", reports of increased fighting in the Tigray Region of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.
"The Chairperson urges the Parties to recommit to dialogue as per their agreement to direct talks to be convened in South Africa by a high-level team led by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa, and supported by the international community," Mr. Faki said.
The Tigray External Affairs Office of the TPLF said in a statement that the separatist group welcomes the AUC Chairperson's call for a ceasefire saying that it is "ready to abide by an immediate cessation of hostilities".
The TPLF also called on the international community to compel the "Eritrean army to withdraw from Tigray, take practical steps towards an immediate cessation of hostilities, and press the Ethiopian Government to come to the negotiating table".
It said: "The war that we have been forced to take part in to save our people from extermination has, due to our adversaries' flagrant disregard for basic rules and norms and genocidal intent, created a ghastly humanitarian crisis.
"The (international community) has a choice to make: either ensure an immediate cessation of hostilities or help the people of Tigray defend themselves against (a) genocidal onslaught. If neither path is followed, the people of Tigray will continue to fight to ensure their survival."
The UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, and six Western countries - Australia, Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States - are among countries and organisations that have reiterated calls for an immediate end to the fighting.
The Ethiopian government troops and separatist TPLF forces have been locked in conflict since November 2020.
The latest surge in violence began last August after a fragile five-month humanitarian truce, which has halted aid deliveries into the northern Ethiopian region where around five million civilians are in need of aid.
Mr. Guterres said in a statement issued by his spokesperson that the uptick in fighting was having “a devastating impact on civilians in what is already a dire humanitarian situation”.
The African Union-mediated talks due to take place in South Africa last month have been postponed because of logistics reasons.
Meanwhile, aid distribution continues to be hampered by lack of fuel, and a communications shutdown across Tigray, while Tigrayan commanders have claimed that Eritrea has launched an offensive in support of Ethiopian government forces.
Hundreds of thousands have been displaced in Tigray as well as neighbouring northern regions of Amhara and Afar, while tens of thousands are believed to have been killed. Millions of lives are being impacted by the conflict.
In a humanitarian update on 4 October, the spokesperson for the Secretary-General, Stéphane Dujarric, said UN staff were now being allowed to rotate in and out of Tigray once more, but life-saving supplies by road and air are needed to resume urgently.
“Those flights have remained suspended since 25 August, halting the transportation of supplies and operational cash into the region, which is vital for operations,” he told journalists in New York.
-0- PANA MA 17Oct2022
