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

Ethiopia'sTigrayrebelssaid Sunday they werereadyfor a ceasefire and would accept apeaceprocess led by the African Union, removing an obstacle to negotiations with the government to end almost two years of brutal warfare.

The announcement was made amid a flurry of international diplomacy after fighting flared last month for the first time in several months in northernEthiopia, torpedoing a humanitarian truce.

"The government ofTigrayis prepared to participate in a robustpeaceprocess under the auspices of the African Union," said a statement by the Tigrayan authorities.

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"Furthermore, we arereadyto abide by an immediate and mutually agreed cessation of hostilities in order to create a conducive atmosphere."

The Ethiopian government has previously said it wasreadyfor unconditionaltalks"anytime, anywhere," brokered by the Addis Ababa-headquartered AU.

TheTigrayPeople's Liberation Front (TPLF) had until now vehemently opposed the role of the AU's Horn of Africa envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, protesting his "proximity" to Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.

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

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called in a statement for "the parties to seize this opportunity forpeaceand to take steps to end the violence definitively and opt for dialogue."

He said the United Nations isreadyto support theAU-ledpeaceprocess.

Taye Dendea,Ethiopia's state minister forpeace, described the TPLF announcement as a "nice development" on Twitter but insisted the "so-called TDF (TigrayDefence Forces) must be disarmed beforepeacetalksstart. Clear stand!"

Seeking 'credible'peaceprocess

The TPLF statement, which coincided withEthiopia's new year, made no mention of preconditions, although it said the Tigrayans expected a "credible"peaceprocess 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 inTigray, which is suffering food shortages and a lack of electricity, communications and banking.

In a letter to Guterres, he also called for the withdrawal of Eritrean forces from acrossEthiopia, and for troops to pull out of westernTigray, a disputed region claimed by both Tigrayans and Amharas, the country's second-largest ethnic group.

Sunday's statement said a negotiating team including TPLF spokesman Getachew Reda and General Tsadkan Gebretensae, a former Ethiopian army chief now inTigray's central military command, was "readyto be deployed without delay".

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

Choosetalksover fighting

The AU's Faki had heldtalksSaturday with both Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president, and visiting US envoy for the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer.

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

Fighting has raged on several fronts in northernEthiopiasince hostilities resumed on August 24, with both sides accusing the other of firing first and breaking a March truce.

The latest combat first broke out aroundTigray's southeastern border but has since spread to areas west and north of the initial clashes, the TPLF accusing Ethiopian and Eritrean forces of having launched a massive joint offensive onTigrayon September 1.

The United Nations said on Thursday that the renewed fighting had forced a halt to desperately needed aid deliveries toTigray, both by road and air.

The March truce had allowed aid convoys to travel toTigray's capital Mekele for the first time since mid-December.

Untold numbers of civilians have been killed since the war erupted in Africa's second most populous country, and millions of people across northernEthiopiaare in need of emergency aid.

Abiy, a NobelPeacelaureate, sent troops intoTigrayin November 2020 to topple the TPLF in response to what he said were attacks by the group on federal army camps.

The TPLF recaptured most ofTigrayin a surprise comeback in June 2021 and expanded into Afar and Amhara, before the fighting reached a stalemate.

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