In preparation for peace negotiations with the Ethiopian government, Tigrayan rebels claim their negotiators have arrived in South Africa. The talks are intended to negotiate a peaceful end to the nation’s two-year war.
What’s happening
The negotiations are expected to begin today and the Tigray side are gunning for a total settlement of conflicts, unrestricted access to aid from foreign bodies, and the departure of the Eritrean Army without the use of force.
Ethiopia’s side
The second-most populous nation in Africa, Ethiopia, has announced that it will take part in the talks as diplomatic pressure grows for an end to the conflict there. The presence of the Ethiopian delegation hasn’t been confirmed.
Will there be peace?
The battle “would end and peace will prevail,” according to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who had earlier promised to quickly defeat the dissident leaders in the northern area when he sent troops into Tigray in November 2020.
The Nobel Peace Prize recipient declared, “Ethiopia will be at peace, and we won’t keep fighting forever.” But Last week, as Ethiopian and Eritrean military seized towns in the area, forcing inhabitants to leave, the government in Addis Abeba threatened to retake control of airports and other federal sites in Tigray.
A bit of a stretch?
After a five-month ceasefire, fighting broke out again in August, and the Eritrean army has since returned to the front lines in support of Ethiopian soldiers and their allies in the region.
Since the AU’s attempt to bring the warring parties to the bargaining table earlier this month failed, calls for a ceasefire have intensified internationally.
What you should know
The return to the front lines in August cut off much-needed help to Tigray, a six-million-person territory that needs basic services as well as food, medication, and other necessities for survival.
Over the past year, Tigray has had a communications blackout, severely restricting independent reporting from the country.
Unknown numbers of people have died in the conflict, and millions more now require humanitarian assistance