Tigray rebels accuse African Union of bias as mediation efforts grow

Rebel forces from Ethiopia’s war-torn region of Tigray have accused the African Union of bias, days after the bloc appointed former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo as a mediator in the months-long conflict.

The spokesman for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, Getachew Reda, accused the AU of “partiality” toward the Ethiopian government and said it would be “naive to expect this mission to work.”

Northern Ethiopia has been wracked by violence since November, when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF, the regional ruling party, saying the move came in response to attacks on army camps.

The 2019 Nobel Peace Prize winner promised a swift victory, but the war has instead dragged on for months, triggering a humanitarian crisis in Tigray, while the rebels have pushed into the neighboring Afar and Amhara regions.

Abiy rejected early appeals from high-level envoys from the AU for talks with Tigrayan leaders, sticking to his line that the conflict is a limited “law and order” operation.

On Thursday, the bloc announced Obasanjo’s appointment as a high representative for the Horn of Africa, saying it was part of a “drive to promote peace, security, stability & political dialogue.”

But on Sunday, TPLF spokesman Getachew dismissed the initiative, saying: “We are hard pressed to know ... how people would reasonably expect a constructive role from an institution that has given partiality a very bad name.”