Ethiopia's Tigray Rebels Say Ready for AU-led Peace Talks

Illustrative: Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia on May 8, 2021. (Ben Curtis/AP)
Illustrative: Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia on May 8, 2021. (Ben Curtis/AP)
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Ethiopia's Tigray Rebels Say Ready for AU-led Peace Talks

Illustrative: Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia on May 8, 2021. (Ben Curtis/AP)
Illustrative: Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia on May 8, 2021. (Ben Curtis/AP)

Ethiopia's Tigray rebels said Sunday they were ready for a ceasefire and would accept a peace process 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 northern Ethiopia, torpedoing a humanitarian truce, AFP said.

"The government of Tigray is prepared to participate in a robust peace process under the auspices of the African Union," said a statement by the Tigrayan authorities.

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

The Ethiopian government has previously said it was ready for unconditional talks "anytime, anywhere," brokered by the Addis Ababa-headquartered AU.

The Tigray People'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 of peace" and urged "both parties to urgently work towards an immediate ceasefire, engage in direct talks".

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

He said the United Nations is ready to support the AU-led peace process.

Taye Dendea, Ethiopia's state minister for peace, described the TPLF announcement as a "nice development" on Twitter but insisted the "so-called TDF (Tigray Defence Forces) must be disarmed before peace talks start. Clear stand!"

- Seeking 'credible' peace process -
The TPLF statement, which coincided with Ethiopia's new year, made no mention of preconditions, although it said the Tigrayans expected a "credible" peace process 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 in Tigray, 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 across Ethiopia, and for troops to pull out of western Tigray, 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 in Tigray's central military command, was "ready to 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 acknowledgement by either warring side of direct contacts.

- 'Choose talks over fighting' -
The AU's Faki had held talks Saturday 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 choose talks over fighting, and participate in an African Union-led process that produces a lasting peace," Hammer said in a new year's message for Ethiopians on Sunday.

Fighting has raged on several fronts in northern Ethiopia since 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 around Tigray'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 on Tigray on September 1.

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

The March truce had allowed aid convoys to travel to Tigray'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 northern Ethiopia are in need of emergency aid.

Abiy, a Nobel Peace laureate, sent troops into Tigray in 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 of Tigray in a surprise comeback in June 2021 and expanded into Afar and Amhara, before the fighting reached a stalemate.



Ukraine Has Lost over 40% of Land It Seized in Russia’s Kursk Region, Senior Kyiv Military Source Says

A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
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Ukraine Has Lost over 40% of Land It Seized in Russia’s Kursk Region, Senior Kyiv Military Source Says

A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)
A still image taken from an undated handout video released by the Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service on 22 November 2024 shows Russian military volunteers of the “Bars-Kursk” formation patrolling in the village of Korenevo, Kursk region, Russia. (EPA/Russian Defense Ministry Press-Service Handout)

Ukraine has lost over 40% of the territory in Russia's Kursk region that it captured in a surprise incursion in August as Russian forces have mounted waves of counter-assaults, a senior Ukrainian military source said.

The source, who is on Ukraine's General Staff, said Russia had deployed 59,000 troops to the Kursk region since Kyiv's forces swept in and advanced swiftly, catching Moscow unprepared 2-1/2 years into its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"At most, we controlled about 1,376 square kilometers (531 square miles), now of course this territory is smaller. The enemy is increasing its counterattacks," the source said.

"Now we control approximately 800 square kilometers (309 square miles). We will hold this territory for as long as is militarily appropriate."

With the thrust into Kursk, Kyiv aimed to stem Russian attacks in eastern and northeastern Ukraine, force Russia to pull back forces gradually advancing in the east and give Kyiv extra leverage in any future peace negotiations.

But Russian forces are still advancing in Ukraine's eastern Donetsk region.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said he believed Russian President Vladimir Putin's main objectives were to occupy the entire Donbas, which consists of Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and oust Ukrainian troops from the Kursk region.

"For Putin, the most important thing is to push us out of the Kursk region. I am sure that he wants to push us out by January 20," Zelenskiy told media, referring to when Donald Trump will be inaugurated as US president. "It is very important for him (Putin) to demonstrate that he is in control of the situation."

The source at the Ukrainian General Staff source reiterated that about 11,000 North Korean troops had arrived in the Kursk region in support of Russia, but that the bulk of their forces was still finalizing their training.

The Russian Defense Ministry did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the figures or descriptions given.

Moscow, which occupies about a fifth of Ukraine, has not confirmed or denied the presence of North Korean forces in Kursk region.

RUSSIAN ADVANCE IN EASTERN UKRAINE

The General Staff source said the Kurakhove region was the most threatening for Kyiv now as Russian forces were advancing there at 200-300 meters (yards) a day and had managed to break through in some areas.

The town of Kurakhove is a stepping stone towards the logistical hub of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region.

Russia has about 575,000 troops fighting in Ukraine now, the source said, and aims to increase its forces to around 690,000.

Russia does not disclose numbers involved in its fighting. Reuters could not verify those figures.

Ukraine has sought to disrupt Russian logistics and supply chains by hitting Russian weapons and ammunition depots, airfields, and other military targets inside Russia.

After US President Joe Biden allowed Kyiv to fire US-supplied missiles at targets deep inside Russia, Ukraine last week fired US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow cruise missiles into Russia.

On Thursday, Russia launched a new medium-range ballistic missile into the Ukrainian city of Dnipro, in a likely warning to NATO.

Ukrainian officials are holding talks with the United States and Britain on new air defense systems capable of protecting Ukrainian cities and civilians from the new longer-range aerial threats.

The Ukrainian General Staff source said the military had implemented measures to bolster air defenses over Kyiv and planned similar steps for Sumy in the north and Kharkiv in the northeast.