last year, and then the African Union led formal negotiations, with Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta playing a key role. Secret federal-Tigray talks were initially facilitated by the U.S. The OLA says it’s willing to negotiate but only if talks are facilitated and mediated by a neutral third party. In February, Oromia president Shimelis Abdissa, an Abiy loyalist, called for reconciliation with the OLA, but the latter rejected the call, claiming the issue was beyond the scope of the regional government. The group has denied any discussions have occurred. The indicators are therefore that an Oromia peace process could follow the successful late 2022 efforts to end large-scale fighting in Tigray.Ībiy said the new committee, led by the deputy leader of the ruling party and government, Demeke Mekonnen, has already started talks with the OLA.

The OLA said in response that while some of the premier’s comments were misleading there were “positive signs” that internationally mediated peace talks will occur. “Our government is deeply committed to resolving this conflict through peaceful means,” he said. Mass atrocities along ethnic lines have taken place on all sides, with many committed by Ethiopia-aligned forces.P rime Minister Abiy Ahmed told parliament on 28 March that a committee has been formed to negotiate with the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA), a militant group that says it is struggling for greater Oromo autonomy in Ethiopia’s largest region.Ībiy said that the violence has caused “immense suffering” for the public in Western Oromia over the last five years. The conflict in Ethiopia has been fought along historical, regional and ethnic faultlines, drawing in forces from Amhara and Afar in Ethiopia, as well as neighbouring Eritrea. The statement comes after a visit by the US envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, as the US Congress considers sanctions against the country.

However, expressing optimism that the flow of aid could help resolve the conflict, he said: “The unconditional and unrestricted delivery of aid could also help create enough trust to pave the way for ceasefire talks.” William Davison, the Ethiopia analyst at the Crisis Group thinktank, said: “At the time of writing, a humanitarian convoy ready to depart from the capital city of Afar region, Semera, has not yet been given the green light by Afar authorities to head to Tigray, despite the federal government’s promises.” “News like this is welcome and the manner in which it has been stated indicates that there might be something different this time around, but we should be careful of taking this announcement at face value before the trucks start entering into Tigray,” he said. “Starvation has been used as a weapon of war,” Gebreluel said, adding that the government’s past promises to allow humanitarian aid into Tigray had not been met. The head of the World Health Organization said earlier this month: “There is nowhere on Earth where the health of millions of people is more under threat.”įood provisions in Tigray, a largely agricultural region, have been decimated by the war, which began in November 2020 when Ahmed, who received the Nobel peace prize the year before, launched a military offensive against the TPLF.Īccording to Goitom Gebreluel, a political analyst on Ethiopia and east Africa, Ethiopian forces “systematically destroyed agricultural facilities in Tigray” when the region was occupied last year, before Tigrayan forces rebounded and launched an offensive in other rareas. Vehicles have been stuck in the neighbouring region of Afar, where leaders have repeatedly said they would prevent help reaching Tigray. Trucks of food aid have not been able to enter Tigray since December last year, leaving the region to rely on far smaller quantities delivered by air. Yet the UN, the international community and aid groups have urged the government to allow desperately needed aid through. “The government calls upon the donor community to redouble their generous contributions to alleviate the situation and reiterates its commitment to work in collaboration with relevant organisations to expedite the provision of humanitarian assistance to those in need.”Įthiopia’s government has routinely denied enforcing a blockade on the war-ravaged region, instead blaming Tigrayan forces.

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