With Tigray forces advancing towards Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa and the humanitarian crises escalating, UN Secretary-General António Guterres in a Tweet on Wednesday (November 3, 2021) voiced concern “about the evolution of the situation in Ethiopia” and said he offered to assist in opening a “dialogue” in a phone call with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who earlier in the week declared a state of emergency.
U.S. Special Envoy Jeffrey Feltman travelled to Addis on Thursday in response to “continued escalation of armed conflict and civil unrest in Amhara, Afar and Tigray”, the State Department said.
Voice of America reports that Abiy’s spokesperson, Billene Seyoum, did not respond when asked if Abiy would meet with Feltman.
Both the African Union Commission Chair Moussa Faki Mahamat and Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta have urged the parties to find a peaceful solution. The executive secretary of the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Dr Workneh Gebeyehu, a former high-raking Ethiopian official, joined in with a statement calling on all parties “to show restraint, work on de-escalating the tensions and resolve their differences through an all-inclusive national dialogue and reconciliation in the best interest of the country and the region.”
Reuters reports that the United Nations Security Council will meet publicly on Ethiopia on Friday (November 5, 2021) at the request of Ireland, Kenya, Niger, Tunisia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
United States Ambassador to the UN Linda-Thomas-Greenfield told the Council on Foreign Relations in New York on Thursday night that the first thing that had to happen is a cease-fire. “Having humanitarian assistance restricted is unacceptable,” she said.
Outlining U.S. policy in a speech on Tuesday, Feltman said: “We urge Ethiopian leaders – from all parties – to take the steps necessary to arrest the current trajectory and permit its peoples and its partners to restore the promise that Prime Minister Abiy so compellingly outlined at the start of his premiership.”
The Biden administration has announced sanctions that could take effect if the Ethiopian government refuses to negotiate. Late on Thursday, ranking Democratic and Republican Senators introduced legistaltion suspending American security assistance to Ethiopia and authorizing American support for conflict resolution.
The government has shown no signs of a willingness to negotiate and, in a statement on Thursday, accused Facebook and Reuters of spreading false information. For their part, Tigrayan forces say they are advancing on the capital, Addis Ababa, and that it could fall within months or even weeks. VOA reports that in recent weeks, Oromo regional forces have joined the Tigrayan forces in their fight against the central government, leading to what the two groups claim are significant advances.