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African Union Urges Both Sides to Stop Civil Conflict in Ethiopia

Sputnik News

20220825
Evgeny Mikhaylov

Over the past day, hostilities reignited in Ethiopia after a five-month-long ceasefire, with the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray rebels accusing each other of violating the peace.

The African Union on Wednesday called on both Ethiopia and Tigray People's Liberation Front forces to stop the hostilities, which resurged over the past days.

"The Chairperson of the African Union Commission, deeply concerned at reports of renewed military confrontation in Ethiopia, urges de-escalation," an official statement read.

Head of the commission Moussa Faki Mahamat noted that the "African Union's continued commitment to work with the parties in support of a consensual political process in the interest of the country," urging both sides to engage with the African Union High Representative for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo.

At the same time, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said was "deeply shocked and saddened" over the resumption of hostilities in Ethiopia.

"My strong appeal is for the immediate cessation of hostilities and for the resumption of peace talks between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF with at the same time the full guarantee of humanitarian access and to people in need and the reestablishment of public services," he said.

The statements urging for peace come after reports suggested that hostilities in Ethiopia had reignited this week, despite the unilateral ceasefire declared by the government to deliver humanitarian aid.

Both the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) and the federal authorities have accused each other of launching a new offensive on the Tigray-Amhara border.

The Ethiopian Air Force stated on Wednesday it had shot down a plane flying toward Tigray from Sudan, carrying weapons.

The African nation has been struggling with a violent internal conflict since November 2020, when the federal government accused the TPLF of attacking its military base and launched an anti-terrorist operation in Tigray. In June 2021, the rebels of the TPLF seized the city of Mekelle, the regional capital, and launched a new offensive, taking control of the southern part of Tigray and neighboring Amhara region.

The ongoing conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people, and caused a dire humanitarian crisis across the country.

© Sputnik