NAIROBI, Kenya
\nThe Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces have established a telephone hotline following a truce struck last week, the African Union\u2019s chief mediator Olusegun Obasanjo said.
\nObasanjo\u2019s announcement came on Monday as both sides meet in Kenya for talks on implementing the ceasefire.
\nThe Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed on Wednesday to cease hostilities, a diplomatic breakthrough two years into a war that has killed thousands and displaced millions.
\nThe truce has raised hopes humanitarian aid can start moving back into a region where hundreds of thousands face famine.
\nRepresentatives of Ethiopia\u2019s government and forces from Tigray are in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to discuss how to begin implementing the ceasefire, with the talks expected to last three or four days.
\n\u201cThe first sign for me of the progress after the signing of the agreement is the fact that between them they have exchanged a hotline,\u201d Obasanjo told a news conference in Nairobi.
\nAccording to an official familiar with the talks, the hotline will address any flare-up in fighting and coordinate disengagements, with both sides recognising \u201cthe challenge of fully communicating with all their units to stop fighting\u201d.
\nIn a press release, the African Union said the expected outcomes of the meeting \u201cinclude modalities for silencing the guns, humanitarian access, and the restoration of services in the Tigray region.\u201d
\nImplementing the ceasefire will be tough given concerns of ongoing fighting on the ground, unsettled political and territorial disputes and an ambitious disarmament timeline.
\nThe Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF), the party that dominates the region, pledged to disarm their fighters fully within 30 days under the agreement.
\nOfficials this week also want to agree on the membership of an African Union-led panel of experts for monitoring, verification and compliance with the ceasefire, the source familiar with the talks said.
\nFormer Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, a co-mediator at the talks, said he hoped the parties would be able to work together to create a permanent resolution to the problem.
\n\u201cWe started in Pretoria, we are inching our way closer. We are now in Nairobi, we are very hopeful next time we will be in Mekelle for our (next) meeting and ultimately celebrate together in Addis Ababa,\u201d Kenyatta said, referring to the capitals of South Africa, the Tigray region and Ethiopia respectively.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NAIROBI, Kenya The Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces have established a telephone hotline following a truce struck last week, the African Union\u2019s chief mediator Olusegun Obasanjo said. Obasanjo\u2019s announcement came on Monday as both sides meet in Kenya for talks on implementing the ceasefire. The Ethiopian government and regional forces from Tigray agreed on Wednesday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293863,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-293850","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n