Kenya, Nairobi — Former President Uhuru Kenyatta is among the African leaders who will mediate the African Union (AU)-led peace talks between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) after more than a year of conflict that has claimed an unknown number of lives and displaced many.
The peace meeting which is slated to take place in South Africa from Saturday will be led by the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and ex-Nigeria president Olusegun Obasanjo.
South Africa's former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka will also be part of the mediators.
"The Peace talks between the two parties, is expected to deliberate on the guiding principles agenda issues, modalities, format and timelines for the negotiated settlement aimed at laying the foundation for a structured and sustained mediation between the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the TPLF, towards durable resolution of the conflict," read a letter from AU President Moussa Faki addressed to TPLF's Head Debretsion Gebremichael.
However, there was no immediate response from the TPLF to the announcement, which comes more than a month after intense fighting resumed in northern Ethiopia, shattering a March truce and dimming hopes of ending the war.
Ethiopia's government on its part confirmed it had accepted the AU invitation to hold peace talks with TPLF
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's national security adviser Redwan Hussein said on Twitter that the government had "accepted this invitation which is in line with our principled position regarding the peaceful resolution of the conflict and the need to have talks without preconditions".
The deepening conflict has raised international alarm, with the United States this week announcing that its special envoy to the region, Mike Hammer, would be making his second visit to Ethiopia in as many months to seek a halt to the fighting.
The latest upsurge has also drawn Eritrean troops back on to the battlefield in support of Ethiopia's federal and regional forces, which are fighting the TPLF on multiple fronts in the country's north.
Tigrayan authorities said last month they were ready to participate in talks mediated by the African Union, removing an obstacle to negotiations with the government in Addis Ababa.
