Addis Abeba – U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, Ambassador Mike Hammer, is set to visit Ethiopia as part of a multi-country tour from 03 to 13 September, 2024.
According to the State Department, a key focus of Ambassador Hammer’s visit to Addis Abeba will be reviewing the implementation of the Pretoria Cessation of Hostilities Agreement with its signatories.
The Department stated, “The United States remains committed to supporting the Ethiopian government and the Tigray Interim Administration to achieve lasting peace.”
This includes support for “effective disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration for ex-combatants; an orderly and peaceful return of internally displaced persons; and advancing transitional justice and accountability.”
Additionally, the envoy is expected to engage with Ethiopian officials on their strategies to address ongoing conflicts in the Amhara and Oromia regions through dialogue.
Ambassador Hammer’s itinerary also includes stops in Brussels, Belgium, for consultations with the European Union and bilateral counterparts on regional developments, and Nairobi, Kenya, to discuss security issues with Kenyan officials.
Hammer’s visit comes against the backdrop of internal tensions within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), one of the signatories of the Pretoria Agreement, where a rift has developed between TPLF Chairman Debretsion Gebremichael and Getachew Reda, President of the Tigray Interim Administration.
On August 19, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) has re-elected Debretsion Gebremichael (PhD) as its chairman during the recently concluded 14th Congress, which took place in Mekelle, the capital of Tigray.
The Congress was marked by the boycott of key executive members and laid bare the deepening divisions within the party when it replaced Getachew Reda, the party’s deputy chairman, with Amanuel Assefa, the former head of the Tigray region’s justice bureau and chief of the Interim Administration President’s office. Amanuel also served as the chief secretariat of the Congress.
Many are raising fears on the impacts of the division over the full implementations of the CoHA. AS
