US envoy in Ethiopia amid escalation of armed conflict

By Andrew Wasike and Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, NAIROBI, Kenya (AA) - US special envoy for the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman is in Addis Ababa on a two-day trip to find a peaceful solution between Tigray forces and the government.

Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) rebels have been embroiled in a war with government forces for almost a year with the death toll estimated in the thousands.

Feltman is expected to meet with senior officials about the growing concern over hostilities. The American Embassy in Addis Ababa warned that “the security environment in Ethiopia has deteriorated significantly in the last several days with a continued escalation of armed conflict and civil unrest in Amhara, Afar and Tigray.”

The US diplomat conferred with African Union Commission Charman Moussa Faki Mahamat on the violence affecting Ethiopia and Sudan after he arrived.

Feltman first visited Addis Ababa two months ago following his appointment to the post. That visit came amid calls by the international community and regional leaders for both sides to cease hostilities that are claiming innocent lives.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, who is also the current UN Security Council chairperson, asked both sides to stop fighting and embrace dialogue.

“The crisis has now escalated into a nationwide social convulsion of historical proportions for Ethiopia,” he said. “The origins of the crisis, bitter and unacceptable as they might appear, can no longer be used as a justification for the continued suffering, killings, and the extended open warfare that now engulfs the nation.”

The request comes as Tigray Defense Forces rebels claim to be closing in on the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa while battling Ethiopian National Defense Forces.

Witnesses told Anadolu Agency that the situation remains very fluid and war is raging on several fronts.

Meanwhile, reports said the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) claimed to have captured Kemissie, a town 360 kilometers (224 miles) north of Addis Ababa, but it remains difficult for Anadolu Agency to independently verify those claims.

Recently, the TPLF and the OLA announced a front against government forces.

Ethiopia’s 547-seat parliament met Thursday and endorsed with an almost unanimous vote a six-month nationwide state of emergency declared Tuesday by the Council of Ministers. There was one abstention.

The UN is reportedly drawing up criminal charges against the warring sides and has warned of mass detentions, killings, systematic looting and sexual violence with widespread civilian suffering recorded.