Bass Lauds AU’s Quest For Peaceful Resolution Of Crisis In Ethiopia

Posted by African Examiner African News, Latest Headlines, North Africa, Southern Africa Friday, November 4th, 2022

(AFRICAN EXAMINER) – Chair of the United States House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, and Global Human Rights, Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA), has applauded the intervention of the African Union (AU) in the search for peaceful resolution of the violent conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

The escalation of the conflict which broke out in the Tigray region near the borders of Eritrea and Sudan has resulted in multiple humanitarian crises in the region.

The crisis was spurred by the conflict that began November 2020, when the Ethiopian government announced a military offensive against the Tigray region. That followed an alleged attack by the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on a state-controlled military base. The TPLF, Tigray’s ruling party, held power in the central Ethiopian government until 2018. Tensions escalated after months of feuding between the TPLF and the central government.

After six months of conflict, thousands of civilians have died, most of the region’s 5.5 million people urgently need humanitarian aid, and more than 2 million are displaced.

Rep Bass said it is vital to acknowledge the part that the AU has played in reaching in resolving the crisis, adding that the AU convened for ten days of peace talks, culminating in the formal signing of a peace agreement between the warring parties.
Lasting solutions, according to her will have to come from continued engagement, which both sides have expressed willingness to pursue.

She further observed that the continued involvement of the AU and its ally nations can play a significant role in assuring that the Tigray region and people of Ethiopia “can recover from this tragic period of conflict”.

“I welcome the commitment of the parties to end the brutal violence that has taken place in the northern Tigray region of Ethiopia. Today would have marked two years since this senseless fighting began, devastating the country and its surrounding region.

“This conflict has caused the unnecessary loss of 500,000 lives or more; displacement of more than two million people; and widespread hunger from the disruptions to farming and food supplies. I am hopeful that this cessation of hostilities will hold, unlike the cease fire declared in March that only lasted five months”, she stressed.