Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the African Union took “another important step toward securing a lasting peace for the people of northern Ethiopia.”
The African Union launched the joint African Union Monitoring, Verification and Compliance Mechanism, which is responsible for enforcing the November peace agreement to a ceasefire, according to KBC.
“The United States applauds today’s formal launch of the African Union Monitoring, Verification and Compliance Mission to ensure full implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement in northern Ethiopia, including TPLF disarmament and Eritrean withdrawal,” Blinken said in a Dec. 29 post on Twitter.
Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front entered a peace agreement and committed to delivering unhindered humanitarian aid in a joint statement issued in November 2022. That is needed for millions of people in the Tigrayan region after the war that began two years earlier. The conflict started after the two groups clashed over politics.
Blinken said the U.S. is prepared to support the African Union’s efforts and the cessation of hostilities agreement. The agreement includes unimpeded humanitarian access, implementation of essential services, disarmament of Tigray People’s Liberation Front combatants, withdrawal of Eritrean forces and implementation of transitional justice, according to a news release.
