Museveni meets deputy Ethiopian premier over Tigray crisis
President Yoweri Museveni has held talks with a delegation from Ethiopia led by the country’s Deputy Prime Minister, Demeke Mekonnen Hassen at Gulu State Lodge.
According to Museveni, the Monday morning meeting discussed among others, an imminent civil war in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.
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“Our discussion focused on the peace and security issues affecting Ethiopia currently. Being one of the oldest countries that was not colonised in Africa, Ethiopia is the pride of the continent,”Museveni said.
He explained that war in Ethiopia would give the entire continent a bad image since the horn of African country was the only one that survived being colonized.
“There should be negotiations and the conflict stopped, lest it leads to unnecessary loss of lives and cripples the economy. Africa's problem is that we never discuss ideology, focusing so much on diplomacy.”
“I totally disagree with politics that focus on ethnic federalism. We must emphasise the issue of oneness and common interests because it is the only way we can prosper.”
The meeting was attended by the Prime Minister, Dr.Ruhakana Rugunda and State Minister for Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem among other ministers.
The latest development comes on the heels of reports by the BBC that the Ugandan leader will broker peace negotiations between the Ethiopian government forces and leaders of the Northern Tigray region.
Museveni has in the past brokered the South Sudan peace deal to end hostilities between the Juba government forces and the rebels led by Vice President Riek Machar.
It is reported that fighting in the region started as early as this month between the Ethiopian national army and forces loyal to the leaders of the Tigray region which saw several people killed whereas thousands have since fled to neighboring countries.
The war according to several media outlets stems from a two-year feud between the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), which was the dominant political party in Ethiopia and Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government.
The conflict reached unprecedented heights over the weekend when rockets were fired from the Tigray region to Eritrea’s capital, Asmara.
