Ethiopia announces new date for Tigray peace talks
October 20, 2022
The Ethiopian government said on Thursday that the African Union (AU) scheduled peace talks to resolve the Tigray conflict for October 24.
An AU bid to bring the warring sides to the negotiating table earlier this month had already failed.
The two-year armed conflict in northern Ethiopia has escalated as the government seeks to control all airports in the region and captures key cities.
What did the Ethiopian government say?
Redwan Hussein, the Ethiopian prime minister's national security adviser, said the AU informed the government that peace talks would take place in South Africa next week.
"We have reconfirmed our commitment to participate," Hussein wrote on Twitter. "However, we are dismayed that some are bent on preempting the peace talks [and] spreading false allegations against the defensive measures."
Renewed calls for a cease-fire
Earlier this week, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an ethnic Tigrayan, warned that time to avert a "genocide" was running out.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the situation in Tigray was "spiraling out of control" as he renewed calls for a cease-fire.
AU-led peace talks were scheduled for October 8, but were postponed due to logistical and technical issues, according to officials.
The UN estimates that the conflict has displaced two million people and left millions more in need of aid.
fb/ar (AFP, AP)