US envoy meets Ethiopia deputy PM in bid to revive truce efforts

Women carry sacks of wheat during a distribution of food organised by the Ethiopian government in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia. AFP

Jeffrey Feltman, the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, met Ethiopia's Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen on Thursday in a bid to revive stalled talks on a ceasefire, as the Ethiopian government gave permission for 369 aid lorries to enter famine-hit Tigray.

Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo — now the African Union's high representative for the Horn of Africa — and Mr Feltman arrived in Ethiopia on Thursday, the country's foreign ministry said.

Mr Obasanjo and Mr Feltman have said they want the Ethiopian government and rebellious Tigrayan forces and their allies to declare an unconditional ceasefire that will humanitarian aid access to areas in northern Ethiopia affected by fighting.

Leaders of the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) want Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed to step down and the government to allow aid to reach Tigray. The government wants Tigrayan forces to withdraw from territory they have captured in neighbouring regions.

The TPLF have publicly speculated that their forces could march south on the capital Addis Ababa, but more intense fighting has been reported in their push east as they attempt to capture the route linking landlocked Ethiopia to the region's main port of Djibouti.

About 400,000 people in Tigray are believed to be living in famine-like conditions and only a trickle of aid has entered the region for months.

Captive Ethiopian soldiers arrive at the Mekele Rehabilitation Centre in Tigray, Ethiopia, after a four-day journey from Abdi Eshir. All photos: AFP

Women welcome Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters as they return to Mekele after seizing control of the city in June 2021.

Ethiopians who fled the Tigray conflict wait to charge their phones at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan.

A member of the Afar Special Forces stands in front of the debris of a house on the outskirts of the village of Bisober in Tigray.

People hold candles and Ethiopian flags at a memorial service for the victims of the Tigray conflict in Addis Ababa.

An Ethiopian refugee who fled fighting in Tigray waits behind a fence in a camp in Sudan.

Refugees living in a camp in Sudan after fleeing violence in Tigray.

A woman walks among the remains of a destroyed factory in Ataye, Ethiopia, where more than 100 civilians died in a recent flare-up of violence.

Two members of the Amhara militia ride in the back of a pick-up truck. Amharas and Tigrayans were uneasy neighbours before the current fighting, with tension over land sparking violent clashes.

Militias from the Amhara region have been involved in the fighting in Tigray.

Tens of thousands of Ethiopians gather at a rally organised by the mayor of Addis Ababa to show support for the military's efforts in Tigray.

Zeleke Alabachew, farmer and militia fighter, tends to his land near the village of Tekeldengy, Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation.

People celebrate the liberation of opposition leaders in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia.

A family fleeing violence sit in a former classroom at May Weyni secondary school, now hosting 10,500 displaced people, in Mekele, capital of Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees travel to Sudan to escape violence in Tigray.

Ethiopian refugees gather to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Tigray People's Liberation Front at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics before being ousted from their regional stronghold last year.

An Ethiopian refugee sets up a tent in a camp in the town of Gedaref, Sudan, after being transported from the border reception centre.

Pro-Tigrayan demonstrators display placards during a protest in front of the chancellery in Berlin.

The aftermath of heavy shelling in Wukro, a city north of Mekele, in Ethiopia.

Widespread hunger has also been reported in the neighbouring regions of Afar and Amhara, home to the cities of Lalibela and Kombolcha, which Tigrayan forces and their allies say they control.

“During their discussions, Demeke disclosed that humanitarian flights to Lalibela and Kombolcha are allowed and in addition 369 aid trucks are permitted to enter to Tigray,” a tweet from the government communications service read.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken left Kenya on Thursday after discussing Ethiopia with President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“A lot of what was discussed yesterday was how we marry the different efforts” of the US, the African Union and other mediators, a senior State Department official told reporters.

Mr Kenyatta, who was in Addis Ababa on Sunday, indicated that Mr Abiy “is more willing than he has been in the past to take advantage of the diplomatic efforts that have been there”, the official said.

Kenya has taken a more proactive role in mediation and sees the situation in neighbouring Ethiopia as a threat, the official said.