After the truce, peace? As humanitarian aid trucks have been pouring into Ethiopia ‘s rebel northern province since March , Abiy Ahmed’s government and Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) insurgents are now reportedly considering negotiations. According to several African and Western diplomats, discussions could begin as early as the end of June in Tanzania, probably in the city of Arusha, known for having already hosted the Rwandan peace process in 1993.
At the origin of this rapprochement, Olusegun Obasanjo, the special envoy for the Horn of Africa of the African Union (AU), has multiplied in recent months the round trips between Addis Ababa and Makalé, the provincial capital. of Tigray. Supported behind the scenes by Western chancelleries, the 86-year-old former Nigerian president has been pleading since September 2021 for a permanent and complete ceasefire between the Ethiopian federal authorities and the rebels. The war, launched in November 2020, has already left tens of thousands dead, millions displaced, and plunged northern Ethiopia into a serious humanitarian crisis.
As they take shape, the negotiations behind closed doors should bring together two delegations, of five members each. If the signing of a ceasefire, an agreement on humanitarian deliveries and the resumption of basic services (electricity, banking, fuel) are clearly on the table, territorial issues should not be addressed.
According to a diplomat stationed in Addis Ababa, “the Tigrayan leadership gives the impression of gradually abandoning its claims to Wolqayt” , a highly disputed territory located in western Tigray. The Amhara militias, which took control of this 12,000 km 2 strip of land bordering Sudan, in November 2020, would have initially pushed more than 720,000 Tigrayans, according to a report by Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. Forced displacement and violence that the United States described in March 2021 as “ethnic cleansing” .
For the time being, the two camps are discreet about possible talks. But the change in tone is palpable in the halls of the federal government. Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s spokeswoman, Billene Seyoum, said on Monday June 6 that the government “adopt [ed] a peaceful posture “ and was “fully committed to the African Union peace initiative”. . A voluntarism displayed not devoid of mistrust. According to Billene Seyoum, the TPLF “continues to forcibly enlist combatants into its ranks” .
