ADDIS ABABA, Aug 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked and saddened” over the resumption of hostilities in Ethiopia.
His remarks came hours after both the Ethiopian government and Tigray rebels confirmed a humanitarian truce had been broken following military escalation.
The Ethiopian army and the forces of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) traded blame as to which side violated the cease-fire that was reached in March, in areas along the administrative border between Amhara and Tigray regional states.
“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 government has expressed readiness to engage in talks with the rebels in the past several months without any pre-conditions as long as they are held under the sole mediation of the African Union.
But the Tigray rebels rejected the African Union as a mediator, recommending that talks be held with Kenyan outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta as mediator.
Thousands, mostly civilians, have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict began in November 2020.
The UN has warned that Tigray “stands on the edge of a humanitarian disaster,” with more than 40% of the region’s estimated 6 million people in need of emergency assistance.
It also said more than 5 million people were internally displaced in Afar and Amhara regional states where Tigrayan forces made military incursions a year ago inflicting huge humanitarian and property damage.
Meanwhile, Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a bloc of eight East African countries, called on warring parties in northern Ethiopia to adhere to an immediate cessation of hostilities.
In a press statement, the bloc’s Executive Secretary Workneh Gebeyehu said he was profoundly concerned at reports of hostilities on the border of Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region and called on warring parties to prioritize dialogue.
“The executive secretary calls on all sides involved to immediately refrain from hostilities and escalation and recommit to dialogue to find sustainable peace in the best interest of the people of Ethiopia and the entire region,” the statement said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the Ethiopian government accused the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front of resuming fighting.
In a statement, the Ethiopian government’s communications service said the rebel group started fresh attacks on different positions on the eastern front early Wednesday morning, particularly in Bisober, Zobil and Tekulesh.
In response, the group accused the federal government of starting the attack on its forces.
Humanitarian aid flow only resumed recently to the Tigray region after the federal government and rebel forces agreed to a conditional cessation of hostilities in March.
Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, has seen a devastating conflict between government-allied troops and forces loyal to the rebel group since November 2020, which has left millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. — NNN-AGENCIES
