|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The United States welcomes peace talks taking place in Tanzania between the Ethiopian government and the Oromo Liberation Army.
In a statement attributed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States government said it “welcomes the beginning of talks in Tanzania” between “the government of Ethiopia and members of the Oromo Liberation Army.”
The U.S. government further encouraged “all parties to negotiate in good faith toward a mutually acceptable resolution.”
The peace talk between the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) and the Ethiopian government began on April 24, 2023, and is being mediated by the governments of Kenya and Norway.
The U.S. applauded the ongoing negotiation with the OLA in its statement marking the six-month anniversary of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) signed in Pretoria on November 2, 2022.
Today marks the six-month anniversary of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, which silenced the guns and brought peace to northern Ethiopia thanks to @_AfricanUnion leadership. We applaud the parties and encourage them to remain committed to full implementation.
— Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) May 2, 2023
The Ethiopian government under the leadership of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has been engaged in armed conflict against the OLA for the last four years, resulting from disagreements over the demands and rights of the Oromo people in Oromia, Ethiopia’s largest and most populous region.
The Ethiopian government designated the OLA as a terrorist organization alongside the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in May 2021. It has since removed the TPLF from its terror list while the designation on the OLA remains.