The United States Department of State on Tuesday called on Ethiopian government and the Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebel group to reach at “mutually acceptable solution”.
In a press statement, the US Department of State, said the U.S. welcomes the beginning of peace talks in Tanzania and encourages all parties to negotiate in good faith towards a mutually acceptable resolution.
“The U.S. reaffirms the importance of its partnership with Ethiopia and commitment to work together on these and other issues of mutual interest,” the statement further said.
Last month, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed disclosed the Ethiopian government will sit for peace talks with Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) rebels in the east African country of Tanzania.
The OLA which is currently listed as a terrorist group by the Ethiopian government has been accused multiple times of gross atrocities on civilians in Ethiopia’s largest region, Oromia. OLA denies the charges.
The U.S. Department of State statement also called for continued follow-through of the implementation of the six months of old Pretoria peace agreement between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) that ended a separate conflict in northern Ethiopia last year.
The statement called for deployment of additional international monitors in Ethiopia’s Tigray region for the protection of civilians and for the conduct of an effective disarmament, demobilization and reintegration process as outlined in the Pretoria peace agreement.
“The United States commends the parties for the significant progress on Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) implementation, which has led to the restoration of essential services, flow of humanitarian aid, TPLF turnover of heavy weapons, release of detainees, the initiation of a comprehensive and inclusive transitional justice process, and establishment of an interim regional administration in the Tigray Region,” the statement said.
“The complete withdrawal of Eritrean and non-federal forces from the Tigray Region and a credible transitional justice process, including accountability for those responsible for human rights violations and abuses, will be key to achieving sustainable peace in northern Ethiopia,” the U.S. Department of State statement further said.
