Ethiopia names negotiators for looming Tigray peace process

Ethiopian authorities have named a team of seven negotiators for possible peace talks with Tigray forces.

The announcement comes after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced earlier in June the formation of a committee to handle negotiations with Tigray’s ruling party, which the government declared a terrorist group last year.

“The ruling Prosperity Party has laid out plans to settle the war in northern Ethiopia peacefully,” Justice Minister Gedion Timothewos told state media late Monday.

The government’s negotiating team will be led by Deputy Prime Minister Demeke Mekonnen, he said.

Tigray’s leaders have not yet commented on the latest announcement by the federal authorities of the East African nation. But the region’s top official, Debretsion Gebremichael, said in an open letter to the international community on June 15 that his side is open to peace talks. He also warned that his group’s “readiness to go the extra mile for peace