Foreign envoys were scrambling on Tuesday to end Ethiopia’s year-long war, hoping an African Union-led push can bring about a cessation of hostilities before a feared rebel march on the capital.
Jeffrey Feltman, US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, returned to Ethiopia for a late-night meeting with his AU counterpart, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, the State Department said.
“We believe there is a small window of opening to work with (Obasanjo),” spokesman Ned Price told reporters Monday.
Last week Feltman met top Ethiopian officials before traveling to Kenya to see President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has been closely involved in regional mediation efforts.
“We have engaged with the TPLF as well,” Price said, referring to the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) rebel group.
“We are engaging with the parties to try and put them on a path to a cessation of hostilities.”
The UN has also tried to rally support for Obasanjo’s initiative to end a conflict that has killed thousands of people, displaced two million and inflicted atrocities and starvation on civilians.—Arab News
