African Union (AU) has extended the tenure of the Horn of Africa envoy, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, despite protests from the government of the disputed Tigray region of Ethiopia.
The protests, according to the Tigray leaders, is as a result of the closeness between Obasanjo and the Prime Minister of Ethiopia Abiy Ahmed.
African Union Commission Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat wrote on twitter: “I reiterated my full confidence in him (Obasanjo) and encouraged his continued engagement with both parties and international actors to work towards peace and reconciliation in Ethiopia and the region”.
Obasanjo was elected in 2021 to be AU’s envoy to Horn of Africa to foster peace in the region.
Ravaged by political insecurity and terrorism, the Horn of Africa include Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.
Mahamat also said that he met with the United States envoy to the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer and they agreed that international partners need to support the AU’s process to long lasting peace in Ethiopia.
Fighting has been taking place since the end of 2020 and has led to loss of many lives, destruction of property and rendering many people homeless, a situation that has been of serious concern to the AU.
Despite a truce reached last March to allow for aid to reach people in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, the understanding was broken in August and fighting has resumed in Ethiopia, causing more damage to citizens.
AFP reported that, in a letter to the United Nation’s Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, the leader of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Debretsion Gebremichael gave four conditions before a truce can be accepted.
The conditions include “unfettered humanitarian access”, and the restoration of essential services in Tigray. Gebremichael also called for the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from across Ethiopia, and for troops to pull out of western Tigray.
The TPLF leader asked for the creation of a “credible” panel of international mediators, even as the Ethiopian government has always insisted that talks with the TPLF rebels must be mediated by the African Union.
