Ehiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday met with African Union envoys to discuss the escalating conflict in the Tigray region of the country.
According to foreign media,
The envoy, received at his office in Addis Ababa, consist of three African ex-leaders — Joaquim Chissano of Mozambique, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia and Kgalema Motlanthe of South Africa who were dispatched this week by the AU as mediators in the country on the brink of an escalated humanitarian crisis.
Abiy, the winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize, on Thursday announced a third and final phase in his campaign against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), whose forces have been battling federal troops in the defiant northern region for three weeks.
The violence has killed many hundreds and displaced tens of thousands more – most seeking refuge in neighbouring Sudan, but there are grave fears for half a million civilians in Mekele – the regional capital, which the army says it has encircled ahead of a threatened attack.
The international community has warned such a strike could violate rules of war and has called for urgent mediation.
Abiy has refused to negotiate with the TPLF and rebuffed calls for dialogue as interference in Ethiopia’s internal affairs.
In a statement issued after their meeting, however, Abiy said he appreciated the gesture and steadfast commitment it demonstrates to the principle of African solutions to African problems.
Even so, he maintained that the government has a constitutionally mandated responsibility to enforce rule of law in the region and across the country.
Many attempts, he added, had been made to negotiate with the TPLF before military action was ordered on November 4.
Tigray has been under a communications blackout since fighting began, making it difficult to weigh competing claims about casualties, and who holds what territory.
It was unclear Friday whether the attack on Mekele had begun, or how close federal forces were to the city.
The prospect of a full-scale attack accelerated diplomatic efforts this week to resolve the conflict, with the UN Security Council holding its first meeting on Tigray and US and European officials urging restraint.