Former Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta arrives for the peace talks between the Ethiopian government and TPLF in Pretoria, South Africa on October 26, 2022. Amnesty International has said the peace talks should lead to justice for victims and survivors of the conflict. PHOTO | PHILL MAGAKOE | AFP
The Ethiopia-Tigray peace talks taking place in South Africa should address the suffering of civilians in northern Ethiopia by leading to a deal to allow for humanitarian aid in the region and minimising civilian casualties in the war, a rights organisation has said.
Amnesty International on Thursday said the African Union brokered peace talks should also lead to justice for victims and survivors of the conflict, the NGO added.
“Resumption of humanitarian aid to the civilians in Tigray is critical because millions of people are at risk of starvation…there should be some agreement or some emphasis about the need to protect civilians while the conflict is going on,” said Fisseha Tekle, a regional researcher at Amnesty International.
“The third thing we want from these peace talks is justice and accountability. The interest of the victims and survivors should not be substituted for political expediency for short-term peace.”
No medical supplies
Speaking at a media briefing with the Kenya Editors Guild in Nairobi, Mr Fisseha also said that many health facilities in Tigray are facing a crisis as they are running out of medical supplies and require urgent medical aid.
Reports show there is dire need for food and medical aid, and civilians are bearing the biggest burden in the almost two-year war between the Ethiopian federal government forces and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), Amnesty added, saying it wants a peaceful resolution to the war.
The conflict in Ethiopia between federal government forces and the TPLF broke out in November 2020, with a few lulls in between when parties to the conflict ceased hostilities to give way to mediation efforts and also allow the flow of humanitarian aid.
However, last week, conflict resumed after the government launched another offensive in Tigray aimed at taking control of all airports and other strategic federal infrastructure. Ethiopian federal government forces and their allies in the Eritrean army seized key towns in Tigray in offensives aided by heavy shelling which is forcing thousands of civilians to flee.
The peace talks in South Africa, which are aimed at supporting the parties to find a political solution to the conflict, began on Tuesday in South Africa after the initial talks scheduled for October 9 were postponed due to “logistical problems”.
This week’s talks are set to end on October 30, 2022.
The AU, along with the UN and US, has for months been putting pressure on the Ethiopian federal government to sit down for talks with Tigrayan leaders in a bid to end the bloody war.
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