Ethiopian gov’t, Tigray forces open new round of peace talks, establish hotline

Ethiopia’s government and Tigray regional representatives began a new round of talks Monday (7 November) to work out military and other details of last week’s signing of a “permanent” cessation of hostilities in a two-year conflict thought to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Last week, the federal government and Tigray regional forces agreed to the cessation of hostilities, a diplomatic breakthrough two years into a war that has killed thousands and displaced millions. The truce has raised hopes humanitarian aid can start moving back into a region where hundreds of thousands face famine. The current meetings in Kenya, which involve the military commanders of both sides along with the lead political negotiators, should discuss issues including how to monitor the deal and the resumption of humanitarian aid access and basic services to Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region, which has been cut off for months. Both sides have established a telephone hotline following a truce struck last week, the African Union’s (AU) chief mediator Olusegun Obasanjo has said.
Over the weekend, the Ethiopian government’s lead negotiator, Redwan Hussein, told diplomats that “we’ve sustained colossal damage” and that the finance minister has estimated the country will require nearly $20 billion to rebuild. “We’ll quickly fix both telecoms and electricity soon” to the Tigray region, he said. Neighboring Eritrea, whose forces have fought alongside Ethiopian ones, is not a party to the peace talks, and last week’s agreement doesn’t mention the country directly. In a press release, the AU said the expected outcomes of the meeting “include modalities for silencing the guns, humanitarian access, and the restoration of services in the Tigray region”.