The leader of the TPLF, which has been fighting the Ethiopian government for more than a year, said he had ordered his troops to gather along the Tigray border “immediately.”
In a letter to the United Nations on December 19, Debretsion Gebremichael stated that the TPLF had called for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for talks to follow.
The announcement of the TPLF leader follows major ground gains by government forces in recent weeks that have recaptured almost all major cities in the Amhara and Afar regions previously held by the rebels after fighting spread to the regions neighboring Tigray since last July.
However Debretsion denied that the battles had been won.
Meanwhile, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed is in Istanbul, Turkey, where he is attending the 3rd Turkey-Africa Summit, the first time he has left the country since the start of the civil war.
The Prime Minister’s Office has announced on social media information about Abiy Ahmed’s trip and his activities in Turkey since his departure.
Other African leaders are in Turkey, including Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo and his Rwandan counterpart Paul Kagame.
More than 30 African leaders are reported to be attending the annual Turkey-Africa summit.
