African Union expresses 'deep concern' over crisis in Ethiopia's Tigray

African Union expresses ‘deep concern’ over crisis in Ethiopia’s Tigray

By : AFP

Date: 14 March 2025 10:17am WAT

FILES-NIGERIA-MALI-BURKINA-NIGER-POLITICS-COUP-SAHEL-ECOWAS

(FILES) (FILES) An ECOWAS staff member walks past a stage before a press conference organized by the Commonwealth, The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Africa Union (AU) at the ECOWAS head quarter in Abuja on February 27, 2023. The withdrawal of Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso from the Economic Community of West African States takes effect on Wednesday after a year of political tensions, fracturing the region and leaving the bloc with an uncertain future. On January 29, 2024, the three countries led by military regimes formally notified ECOWAS of their desire for "immediate" withdrawal. But the texts of the West African organisation required one-year's notice for it to be effective. (Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP)

The African Union said Friday it was following events in the Ethiopian region of Tigray with “deep concern”, as tensions between rival factions threaten a fragile peace agreement.

“The African Union (AU) has been closely monitoring the evolving situation within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) with deep concern,” it said in a statement.

A peace agreement in 2022 ended a brutal two-year war between Tigrayan rebels and the federal government that claimed up to 600,000 lives, according to some estimates.

But a failure to fully implement the terms has fuelled divisions within the Tigrayan political elite and combined with deteriorating ties between Ethiopia and neighbouring Eritrea to raise fears of a new conflict.

“The AU emphasises that adherence to the (2022 peace agreement) is crucial for maintaining the hard-won peace and fostering an environment conducive to sustainable peacebuilding, reconciliation and development,” the statement said.