Nairobi, Nov 17 (AFP/APP):The United States and Kenya on Wednesday pressed for a ceasefire in Ethiopia, holding out hope for a negotiated solution between the government and rebels as diplomacy intensifies over the year-long war.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on a three-nation tour of Africa that will take him to Nigeria and Senegal, also sounded a warning about a global retreat in democracy as he encouraged close ally Kenya to ensure free elections next year.
The top US diplomat spoke for an hour and a half with Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta at a meeting that was originally scheduled for 10 minutes.
Kenyatta paid a surprise visit to Addis Ababa and met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Sunday amid mounting alarm as Tigrayan rebels threaten to march on Ethiopia’s capital.
“We believe in the potential of Ethiopia to find a resolution to this crisis. We believe that a ceasefire is possible,” Kenya’s Foreign Minister Raychelle Omamo told a joint news conference with Blinken.
Blinken called for “concrete steps for peace” and a resumption of humanitarian assistance, with hundreds of thousands living in famine-like conditions as the war between Abiy’s government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) enters its second year.
“I reiterate our call for all parties to urgently and seriously engage in negotiations on cessation of hostilities without preconditions,” said Blinken, who also renewed a call for US citizens to leave the country as soon as possible.
Ethiopia has been a close US ally but the United States has been dismayed by curbs on aid delivery into the northern Tigray region which is facing a de facto humanitarian blockade according to the United Nations.
President Joe Biden removed Ethiopia from a vital trade pact this month but has stopped short of sanctions, hoping to give diplomacy a chance.
But in response to a question, Blinken did not rule out the United States eventually declaring that the “atrocities” in Tigray amount to genocide.
“Regardless of what we call it, it needs to stop and there needs to be accountability,” he said.
Blinken, who is on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as the top US diplomat, also told Sudan’s military that it stood to gain if it reverses last month’s toppling of the civilian government.
“If the military puts this train back on its tracks and does what’s necessary, I think the support that has been very strong from the international community can resume.”
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