With Tigray at a crossroads, Tigrayans need to talk
Ethiopia InsightJan 26, 2023
Ethiopian officials and state media reported on Friday that PM Abiy Ahmed had held his first in-person talks with Tigrayan leaders since the federal government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) struck a peace deal to permanently halt hostilities.
Though Tigray leaders haven't issued a statement on the meeting, Ethiopia's National Security Adviser Redwan Hussein announced that flights and banking services would be increased to northern Tigray.
Though the peace deal signals the end of the fighting, it remains to be seen whether it will hold. Polarization and a lack of dialogue have caused immense suffering to the Tigrayan people, so it's time for all stakeholders to provide constructive contributions to alleviate the political and humanitarian crisis in the region.
Ethiopia has become a continental beacon of dialogue-based mechanisms for conflict prevention and resolution, showing that African problems can indeed be solved by African solutions. As the federal government has agreed to implement this peace deal without any preconditions, it has proved its commitment to bringing peace and stability to the country.
There's a 46% chance that Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed will experience a significant leadership disruption before 2025, according to the Metaculus prediction community.