Shuttle diplomacy has resulted in some progress, according to the
chairman of Ethiopia's Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which has been
at odds with government troops for over a year.
Debretsion Gebremichael told the BBC in a rare interview that he
had been in indirect conversations with the authorities.
Millions of people have been displaced as a result of the war, and
the UN estimates that about 40% of Tigray's population is food insecure.
Debretsion said that shuttle diplomacy was having an effect, and
that there were signs of progress following indirect meetings with the
Ethiopian administration.
The
TPLF chairman told the BBC that he hoped for a peaceful conclusion, but that if
it was not possible, they would continue to fight for Tigrayans' rights.
Ethiopia's
Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has indicated signals of adopting a diplomatic
solution rather than military action.
He
has released inmates and lifted the state of emergency, no longer seeing the
TPLF as a danger to his leadership.
However,
territorial claims by the Amhara and Eritrea's president, Isaias Afwerki's
ambition to defeat the TPLF hinder the path to peace.
According to BBC, it
is not a straightforward two-way conversation.
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