Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
The Israeli Walla! website: We are running out of stockpiles, our forces are exhausted, and the lives of the captives are in danger. It is time for a ceasefire deal in Gaza.
Several wounded in an Israeli bombardment of a tent in al-Mawasi, south of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli media: Three wounded, three killed in an ongoing operation in the Gaza Strip.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in southern Lebanon: Israeli artillery shelling targets the outskirts of the town of Shebaa
Al-Qassam Brigades: The targeting took place at the intersection of 'Street 5' with the western line north of Khan Younis
Al-Qassam Brigades: A NIMR armored personnel carrier carrying an Israeli soldier was targeted with an Al-Yassin missile north of Khan Younis
Israeli media: At least two soldiers killed by anti-tank missile fired at Israeli army forces in the Gaza Strip
Local Syrian sources: Mortar shells fell on more than nine villages in the Sweida countryside
Local Syrian sources: Dozens of dead and wounded have arrived at Sweida hospitals as a result of ongoing clashes at several locations in the western Sweida countryside
Local sources: Civilians, including children and women, were injured in the al-Maqous neighborhood of Sweida, in Syria, as a result of ongoing clashes

Ethiopia's Tigray rebels say ready for AU-led peace talks

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 12 Sep 2022 08:39
4 Min Read

Ethiopia's TPLF agrees to AU-led peace talks that would remove obstacles hindering talks with the government.

  • x
  • Ethiopian and TPLF forces in October, 2021. Photographer: Amanuel Sileshi/AFP/Getty Images
    Ethiopian and TPLF forces in October 2021 (Amanuel Sileshi/AFP)

Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) said Sunday they were ready for a truce and would accept an African Union-led peace process, removing a roadblock to talks with the government to end nearly two years of savage combat.

The statement came amid a flurry of foreign diplomacy after the fighting was resumed last month in northern Ethiopia for the first time in recent months, destabilizing a humanitarian truce. "The government of Tigray is prepared to participate in a robust peace process under the auspices of the African Union," said a statement by the Tigrayan authorities.

"Furthermore, we are ready to abide by an immediate and mutually agreed cessation of hostilities in order to create a conducive atmosphere." The government revealed readiness for unconditional talks "anytime, anywhere," brokered by the Addis-Ababa-headquartered AU. 

The TPLF had previously protested the AU's Horn of Africa Ambassador Olusegun Obasanjo's "proximity" to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

Read next: Tigray rebels deny 'direct engagements' with Ethiopia govt

AU Commission chief Moussa Faki Mahamat issued a statement welcoming the development as a "unique opportunity towards the restoration of peace" and urged "both parties to urgently work towards an immediate ceasefire, engage in direct talks."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged in a statement for "the parties to seize this opportunity for peace and to take steps to end the violence definitively and opt for dialogue." He stressed that the United Nations is ready to support the AU-led peace process.

Ethiopia's state minister for peace, Taye Dendea, described the TPLF announcement as a "nice development" on Twitter but insisted the "so-called TDF (Tigray Defence Forces) must be disarmed before peace talks start. Clear stand!"

I hear that TPLF is ready for peace talks led by the AU. Nice development. But there should be no mistakes. In a nation there is only one defense force. It is an international principle. We can't bypass it! The so called TDF must be disarmed before peace talks start. Clear stand!

— Taye Dendea (@DendeaTaye) September 11, 2022

Related News

Ethiopia at UN calls for quicker progress on peace deal

Amnesty Int. unreliable reports pushing for Eritrea regime change

'Credible' peace process 

The TPLF statement didn't mention preconditions, although it said the Tigrayans expected a "credible" peace process with "mutually acceptable" mediators, as well as international observers.

TPLF leader Debretsion Gebremichael earlier this month proposed a conditional truce calling for "unfettered humanitarian access" and the restoration of essential services in Tigray, which is suffering from food shortages and a lack of electricity, communications, and banking.

He also demanded the evacuation of the Eritrean military from Ethiopia, as well as the withdrawal of troops from western Tigray, a contested territory claimed by both Tigrayans and Amharas, the country's second-largest ethnic group.

Read next: Tigray rebels accused by Ethiopia of refusing to engage in peace talks

Sunday's statement revealed that the negotiating team, including TPLF Spokesperson Getachew Reda and General Tsadkan Gebretensae, a former Ethiopian army chief, now in Tigray's central military command, was "ready to be deployed without delay."

Debretsion said last month that two rounds of classified face-to-face discussions had taken place between top civilian and military officials, the first acknowledgment of direct contacts by either warring side.

'Talks over fighting' 

The AU's Faki met with both Obasanjo, the former Nigerian President, and Mike Hammer, the visiting US Ambassador for the Horn of Africa.

"May the parties in the conflict have the courage to choose talks over fighting, and participate in an African Union-led process that produces a lasting peace," Hammer said in a new year's message for Ethiopians on Sunday.

Since August 24, fighting has raged on multiple fronts in northern Ethiopia, with both sides blaming the other for firing first and violating a March truce.

The recent fighting began near Tigray's southern border but has now moved to areas west and north of the initial confrontations, with the TPLF accusing Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of launching a large coordinated onslaught on Tigray on September 1.

On Thursday, the United Nations said that the renewal of fights had forced a halt to necessary aid deliveries to Tigray. 

  • TPLF
  • Ethiopia
  • Tigray People's Liberation Front
  • Abiy Ahmed

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS