Rebels in the Tigray region have denied having “direct” contact with the Ethiopian federal government, in response to the African Union’s claim of armed conflict between the two sides since November 2020.
Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front (TPF) spokesman Getachew Reda said the Agence France-Presse news, which released the African Union’s “direct commitment” statement on Thursday, was “a complete fabrication.”
“There are simply no such obligations,” Reda tweeted on Saturday in English.
On Thursday, the African Union released a text on its website that refers to the “statement” issued on August 4 following a presentation by the African Union High Representative for the Horn of Africa, Olusegun Obasanjo.
In this text, the Peace and Security Council congratulated Obasanjo on the “direct commitment made between the Ethiopian federal government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.”
On Saturday, the word “between” was replaced with “with” in an updated version of the text published on the African Union website.
In addition, the site no longer has the original text, which was published in English and French.
The fighting in Tigray ceased after the declaration of a humanitarian truce at the end of March, and the government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front said they were ready to negotiate an end to the conflict, but no specific negotiations took place, so far due to differences on several points.
Addis Ababa wants the African Union to sponsor the talks and start them “without preconditions.”
The rebels from Tigray reject the mediation of Obasango, who question his impartiality and demand, before any negotiations, the restoration of basic services (electricity, communications, banking, fuel …), which the region has been deprived of for over a year.
The conflict in Tigray began in November 2020, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent a federal army into the region to overthrow the local authorities, who had been challenging his authority for months and accused them of attacks on military bases in the region.
After a counter-attack launched in June 2021 that spread to the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, rebels from Tigray regained control of most of the region.
The bloody conflict has plunged northern Ethiopia into a serious humanitarian crisis.
Source: AFP.