Addis Abeba — AU Chairperson said he is "following with deep concern the escalating tensions between local communities" and "appeals for "the respect and full implementation" of the Pretoria agreement.

The Chairperson, Moussa Faki Mahamat, said this in a statement released today following recent reports of instability in the Southern Tigray zone, including in Alamata and the surrounding local areas such as Ofla and Zata, which, according to the UNOCHA, has caused the displacement of some 50, 000 civilians into several bordering localities in the northern Amhara regional state.

The instability arose after attempts by the federal government to dismantle local administrations established in the Southern Tigray zone after these areas were controlled by armed forces from the neighboring Amhara region following the outbreak of the November 2020 war in the Tigray region.

In the statement, Chairperson Mahamat also called for "the commencement of the political dialogue", as "the most viable means" to respond to the matter, and appealed for "the respect and full implementation" of the November 2022 Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) signed in Pretoria, South Africa between the federal government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).

The statement followed another call made last week by a group of diplomatic mission in Addis Abeba calling on de-escalation and the protection of civilians in the affected areas and the importance of all parties making progress towards disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration (DDR).