Kalkidan Yibeltal

The government in Ethiopia is fully committed to African Union-led efforts to find an end to the civil war – now in its 19th month – in the north, a government spokesperson has said.

Speaking to journalists in Addis Ababa on Monday, Billene Seyoum, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s press secretary, said Ethiopia has a ‘”high regard” for former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU’s chief mediator.

However “any kind of peace process is long; it’s not simple. It’s a complex process [that’s] multi-layered,” she added.

The remarks came days after Mr Obasanjo met both Tigrayan leaders and senior government officials including the prime minister, in his latest trip to Ethiopia.

Ms Billene nonetheless accused Tigrayan forces of “amping up war drums” in recent weeks.

Tigrayan forces had previously said that they welcome the peace efforts.

In the past few weeks Ethiopia has jailed thousands of people mainly in the northern Amhara region and in Addis Ababa, as part of an operation that authorities say is aimed at ensuring law and order.

Eighteen journalists and media workers are among those jailed in what the state’s own rights body, the Ethiopian Human Rights Commission, called “unlawful” measures.

Ms Billene, however, contradicted the commission’s remarks by saying many of those jailed were not licensed journalists recognised by the media regulatory body.

The mass arrests in Amhara are aimed at “individuals operating outside mandated security apparatus” and that government’s efforts to “ensure there’s clarity where the monopoly of power lies”, she said.

Source: BBC