US envoy for Africa to visit UAE, Turkey, Egypt to discuss Ethiopia conflict

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - US Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman will depart Thursday for the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Turkey and Egypt to discuss the Ethiopian conflict, a State Department spokesman said Wednesday.

Ned Price said Feltman will discuss with his counterparts "what it is that the international community seeks when it comes to Ethiopia, and that is chiefly a negotiated resolution to the conflict because we know that the conflict threatens the peace and security in the Horn of Africa."

Price reiterated that there is no military solution to the conflict in Ethiopia.

Feltman is leaving to pursue support for diplomacy as the first and the only option to achieve a cessation of hostilities, Price said at a news conference

Now in its 13th month, the armed conflict between government forces and fighters from the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) has claimed thousands of innocent lives and left many others facing famine-like conditions as affected areas are cut off from international aid.