The chairman of the African Union Commission on Wednesday expressed “deep concern” over renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia between the government and rebels from the Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) and called for a “de-escalation”.
In a statement to the African Union, Moussa Faki Mahamat called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities and called on both sides to resume negotiations in search of a peaceful solution” to the conflict, which has been ongoing since November 2020 after hostilities resumed on Wednesday following a five-month truce.
AU envoy to the Horn of Africa Olusegun Obasanjo is leading international efforts to end a 21-month-long conflict in northern Ethiopia between Tigray rebels and government forces.
Faki stressed the African Union’s “endless commitment to working with parties to conflict to support a coherent political process for the good of the country”, calling on both sides to engage in dialogue with Obasanjo.