By Addis Getachew and James Tasamba
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia/ KIGALI, Rwanda (AA) - Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived Tuesday in the Senegalese capital Dakar for a one-day day visit, the latest in his African regional tour.
In a tweet, the Office of the Prime Minister said Abiy and his delegation were scheduled to hold talks with President Macky Sall on a wide range of topics including bilateral and continental issues of mutual concern.
Last month, Abiy met with the leaders of Uganda and Rwanda in Entebbe and Kigali, respectively.
Frederick Golooba-Mutebi, a Kampala-based researcher on politics and public affairs, said Abiy is probably visiting most influential leaders in various regions to rally support amid a rebellion in the northern part of the country.
“I think he is trying to rally the support of his peers against what appears to be increasing US and general Western hostility in the face of the internal war in Ethiopia between the central government and the Tigray rebels,” Golooba-Mutebi told Anadolu Agency.
According to the scholar, in the Great Lakes region, Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni and Rwandan President Paul Kagame wield substantial influence, while in West Africa, President Sall and Senegal as a country are equally influential.
“The rebels seem to have quite disguised support from Western countries and Western media which portrays them in a positive light and depicts the government in negative terms...So I think he is probably reacting to that,” added Golooba-Mutebi.
The Ethiopian government has declared a law enforcement operation against the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), an all-too-powerful party turned rebel group.
The African Union recently appointed former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as its African High Representative for the Horn of Africa region with the mission to “promote peace, security, stability and political dialogue.”
African Union Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat held “in-depth consultations” Tuesday with Obasanjo as he begins his mission.
But last month, the spokesman for the rebels, Getachew Reda, accused the African Union of “bias” following the appointment of Obasanjo.
Sparked last November by an attack on a federal army base by TPLF forces, the conflict has threatened to further destabilize Africa's second-most populous country.
More than 2 million people are displaced in Tigray, according to the International Organization for Migration.