Tigray peace talks: Journalist kept outside the headquarters

The first formal peace talks between the warring sides in the brutal two-year conflict in Ethiopia’s Tigray region went into a second day on Wednesday.

Led by the African Union (AU), the negotiations in Pretoria follow a surge in fierce fighting in recent weeks that has alarmed the international community and triggered fears for civilians caught in the crossfire.

AU Horn of Africa envoy and former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo is the talks’ chief facilitator, while Kenya’s ex-president Uhuru Kenyatta is part of the mediating team.

Talks commenced on Monday

The Pretoria dialogue, the first publicly announced talks between the rivals, opened on Monday and is due to run until Sunday, according the presidency.

Journalist not allowed inside

There has been a media blackout, with journalists kept outside the headquarters of the department of foreign affairs’ perimeter fence.

The dialogue between negotiators from the Ethiopian government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the regional authorities in war-stricken Tigray came almost two months since fighting resumed, shattering a five-month truce.

The international community has been calling for a ceasefire, humanitarian access to Tigray where many face hunger and a withdrawal of Eritrean forces, whose return to the conflict has raised fears of renewed atrocities against civilians.

Amnesty International – accountability

Amnesty International on Wednesday called for a probe into abuses, saying every party involved had committed crimes against humanity.

“Documented violations of human rights violations [include] rapes, sexual violence … lootings, torture and extrajudicial killings,” said Fisseha Tekle, an Amnesty specialist on Ethiopia and Eritrea.

“All the parties, Tigrayans, Amharas, Eritreans, have committed serious human rights violations, including crimes against humanity,” he told a Nairobi press conference.

Diplomatic pressure has ratcheted to try to end a war which has left millions in need of humanitarian aid and, according to a US estimate, as many as half a million dead.

The talks come as federal forces and their allies in the Eritrean army appear to be gaining the upper hand, seizing a string of towns in Tigray including the strategic city of Shire.

It is impossible to verify battleground developments as Tigray – a region of six million people – is largely cut off by a communications blackout and access to northern Ethiopia is severely restricted.

An initial AU effort to bring the two sides to the negotiating table this month failed, with diplomats blaming logistical issues and a lack of preparedness.

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