AU’s envoys lead Ethiopia, Tigray leaders’ disarmament talks in Nairobi

NAIROBI, Kenya - The African Union Peace envoy to the Horn of Africa region led by former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo and Kenya’s former president Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday led talks between the senior commanders of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF) and the rebel group Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in Nairobi.

This talk is part of the plan to draw up a strategic plan disarmament agreement signed last week in Pretoria -South Africa.

According to a communique from the African Union, the meeting was expected to result in agreements on the “We are working on modalities for silencing the guns, humanitarian access, and the restoration of services in the Tigray region.”

Kenya’s former president Kenyatta has been at the helm of Kenya’s peace efforts in the region since his time in office as Kenya’s president.

“We are here as facilitators, convinced that these brothers who know each other, will be able to work and formulate together the best way to bring a permanent cessation and resolution to the problem that has confronted them in a peaceful way,” Kenyatta says.

Olusegun Obasanjo hinted that the peace of Ethiopia is a concern to the region.

According to Getachew Reda, TPLF’s spokesperson, “It is time for the very people who have a deeper understanding of the situation on the ground, to talk about how to go back and make sure that whatever happens is going to result in lasting peace.”

Ethiopia’s National Security Adviser -Amb Redwan Hussein, revealed that the government is ready to begin the reconnection of essential services and distribute humanitarian assistance in Tigray as soon as the military officials give them the green light.

“We have reached an agreement today and by end of this week or by the beginning of next week, we have to allow the trucks to take the food to Tigray. Both Political leaders have signed the agreement, but now, our military leaders will pave the way to expedite the implementation.”

GAROWE ONLINE