Ethiopia's Abiy says talks underway with armed groups; one group denies any discussion

When Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed spoke at a final campaign rally at a stadium in the town of Jimma in the southwestern Oromia Region of Ethiopia on June 16, 2021. [AP Photo]

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that negotiations are in progress with armed militias in the Amhara region to peacefully resolve the ongoing conflict there.

Speaking at a meeting with financial leaders in Addis Ababa on Friday, the prime minister said the federal government has been making efforts to reach out to the rebels but hinted that a lack of unity among the armed groups could be an obstacle.

"I haven't revealed this so far but to let you know today, it has been a while since we started talks with armed groups operating in the Amhara region," he said in Amharic, speaking to participants of the meeting. "The problem so far is that there is no centralized group. When we reach an understanding with one group we don't agree with the other."

The prime minister said efforts have been made to make the groups come together to "create enabling conditions for talks."

"But we have started talks with some of the groups; there are groups that have started continuous talks with the government," he said.

The prime minister did not identify which armed groups were involved in the talks and when the talks started. The format of the talks is also not yet clear.

Group denies it's talking to government

A spokesperson for one of the Fano armed groups fighting in the Amhara region denies talks with the government. Fano is an ethnic Amhara militia without a formal structure and there are several groups operating in different parts of the Amhara region.

Simeneh Mulatu, head of the foreign and diaspora affairs department for the Fano militias in Gojjam, told VOA that there have not been any talks or negotiations they started with the government.

Leaders of other Fano factions operating in the region could not be reached for comment.

Official unaware of reports of talks

Despite the prime minister's remarks, an official with the Amhara region's peace council set up in June also appears to be unaware of the reports of talks with the armed militias.

Eyachew Teshale told VOA that they are not aware of any formal peace talks that are going on between the government and the Fano armed group.

Fighting between federal government forces and Fano broke out a year ago after reports emerged that the government was planning to disarm the regional paramilitary forces to integrate them into other security structures, including the federal army.

In November last year, the Ethiopian government held talks with the other rebel group fighting in the Oromiya region, the Oromo Liberation Army. The two sides failed to narrow their differences during the two rounds of talks that took place in Tanzania.