IGAD asks President Salva Kiir to mediate Ethiopia war with TPLF
South Sudan's President Salva Kiir.
Juba,
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has asked South Sudan’s President, Salva Kiir Mayardiit, to mediate the ongoing conflict in Ethiopia.
Sudan’s Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, who is also the regional bloc's head, said he is the right person for job.
“The chair of IGAD requested President Kiir to go to Ethiopia believing that he is the right person to mediate in the Ethiopian conflict. Hamdok said Kiir was the the right person to mediate talks between Addis Ababa and the regional government in Tigray,” said South Sudan Information Minister Michael Makuei.
In response, he said, President Kiir’s office has accepted the offer.
"The president accepted the request and now preparations are underway so that this mediation process starts,” he added.
Just last Thursday, President Kiir was in Ethiopia for an official visit where he met Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed in the capital Addis Ababa.
Tigray, a region in Ethiopia's north, has been wracked by violence since November last year, when PM Abiy sent troops into Tigray to topple the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), the regional ruling party.
Ethiopia has always maintained that the move was a response to TPLF's attacks on the national army's camps.
