Negotiations began in the city as part of the peace agreement signed in Pretoria, South Africa, and also aim to establish all mechanisms to ensure security and expedite humanitarian aid in previously inaccessible areas.
This was announced by the Ethiopian government’s communications service, according to which the meeting fulfills a requirement of the pact, which should pave the way to a peaceful outcome to the war that began two years ago.
The military leaders of the conflicting parties must start talks within five days of the signing of the peace agreement, and this Monday is exactly the fifth day, the official statement said.
As a permanent disarmament and demobilization process is being established, ways to rehabilitate and reintegrate TPLF fighters are being discussed, he added.
He also pointed out that the agreement signed under the auspices of the African Union is a great confirmation that African states are able to face and solve their problems themselves.
Ethiopia, he stressed, believes in African solutions to African problems, and the peace talks led by the continental body have helped put a nail in the coffin of the conflict.
After 10 days of dialogue in Pretoria, federal authorities and the frontline agreed last November 2 to begin a process aimed at restoring constitutional order and peace to the nation’s northern region.
On November 4, 2020, armed conflict broke out between the Bundeswehr and the TPLF in Tigray, which months later spread to the Afar and Amhara regions, with catastrophic humanitarian and material consequences.
Until last week, a peaceful outcome to the conflict was almost a pipe dream, but the pact signed in South Africa opened an opportunity for reconciliation and peace in Ethiopia.
mgt/raj