By Merve Aydogan
ANKARA (AA) - Ankara on Monday welcomed Ethiopia’s Tigray rebels' willingness to take part in peace talks led by the African Union (AU).
"We renew our call on the parties for dialogue and reiterate our readiness to provide all kinds of support to find a permanent solution to end the violence in Ethiopia," said Tanju Bilgic, spokesman at the Turkish Foreign Ministry.
In a statement on Sunday, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the rebel group leading an insurgency in northern Ethiopia for nearly two years, said it was “prepared to participate in a robust peace process under the auspices of the African Union,” adding that it expects a “credible AU-led peace process” with “mutually acceptable” mediators and international observers.
The TPLF, which ruled Ethiopia for almost three decades until 2018, has been engaged in conflict with Ethiopian forces since November 2020.
After a months-long truce was shattered in late August, the Ethiopian military has been making significant inroads into Tigray, taking over strategic areas and towns that were under TPLF control for the past year, according to military sources.
The TPLF was previously opposed to AU mediation, accusing its special envoy for Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, of having close ties with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.