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The UN Security Council ended its first meeting on the fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region on Tuesday without a joint statement. South Africa called for more time for the African Union’s efforts and “a statement could complicate the situation,” said an African UN diplomat.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric stressed that the African Union was at the forefront of international efforts and that the UN Secretary-General supported this approach.
The representatives of the European states “expressed their concern, condemned the ethnic violence and demanded protection for the civilian population,” said a European UN diplomat after the meeting. African countries would like “African solutions to African problems”. “We have to respect that, but only up to a point,” the diplomat said. The African Union announced on Friday the appointment of three former presidents as special envoys and mediators in the conflict.
The session ended after an hour and a half.
The closed, virtual session lasted one hour and twenty minutes. It was convened at the request of the members of the European Security Council, Belgium, Germany, France, Estonia and Great Britain, as well as the United States.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year, has so far largely ignored international calls for a peaceful resolution to the conflict. The Addis Ababa government has yet to allow mediators in the conflict. On Monday he only agreed to meet with three mediators appointed by the African Union (AU) “out of respect.”
The conflict in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, which had been dormant for months, escalated in early November when the central government dispatched tanks and fighter jets to the region. Hundreds of people are said to have died so far and more than 40,000 have fled to neighboring Sudan.
Shortly before the end of an ultimatum from the Ethiopian government to the rebellious Popular Liberation Front TPLF, which ruled in Tigray, there were no signs of relaxation Tuesday night. (apa / afp)
