The federal government of Ethiopia announced Aug. 17 that it will promote a formal cease-fire agreement with the regional state of Tigray in order to be able to restore essential services to the people of the region (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/8/17/ethiopia-government-proposes-plan-for-peace-in-tigray).
According to the World Health Organization’s statement on the same day, the situation in Tigray would now have to be regarded as the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet, while on August 19 the World Food Program said that roughly half of Tigray’s population is at serious food risk, while humanitarian convoys continue to reach the region with difficulty (https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/nearly-half-people-ethiopias-tigray-need-food-aid-wfp-2022-08-19/).
The committee appointed by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed last June to explore the possibility of a dialogue with the Tigrayan TPLF authorities, according to the Addis Ababa government’s statement, would therefore finalize a peace proposal to formalize a cessation of hostilities between the federal and regional governments.
No details were given about the proposal drafted by the Addis Ababa government, but it was described as a formalization of the cease-fire and a means of initiating the terms of a future political dialogue, and will be submitted to the African Union for consideration as soon as possible.
According to the federal government spokesman, the content of the proposal has three main elements: initiation of peace negotiations within a few weeks, initiation of a political dialogue to find a solution to the crisis, and initiation of a national reconciliation dialogue (https://www.africanews.com/2022/08/19/ethiopia-unveils-plan-to-end-war-calls-for-ceasefire-with-tigray-rebels/).
A proposal that was viewed negatively by the Tigrinya TPLF authorities, who, through their spokesperson Getachew Reda, called Addis Ababa’s initiative an attempt at obfuscation to prevent the international community from having the necessary elements to assess the state of the crisis (https://www.lorientlejour.com/article/1308757/le-gouvernement-reclame-un-cessez-le-feu-formel-avec-les-rebelles-du-tigre.html).
The news of the finalization of a proposed agreement comes just days after mutual accusations of ceasefire violations and, on the federal side, the accusation that Tigray has ordered a new military mobilization (https://borkena.com/2022/08/21/tplf-resorted-to-military-mobilization-spokesperson-accuses-ethiopian-govt/).
