The Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on Monday, November 7 began talks in Nairobi to chart a disarmament plan, following last week’s agreement to end hostilities in the northern region of Tigray. Senior commanders from the two parties will chart the way forward after the peace deal, which was reached after two years of fighting, thanks to African Union-led negotiations in South Africa. According to a statement from the AU Commission, the Nairobi talks will work out the implementation of the peace deal, including a disarmament plan for the TPLF combatants. After signing the ‘permanent ceasefire’ agreement, the two parties said Ethiopia would have “only one national defence force.” “The meeting should also provide a roadmap for immediate humanitarian access and restoration of services in the Tigray region,” the statement read in part. The AU commission described the talks as “key confidence-building measures.” Like the peace talks in Pretoria, the Nairobi discussions will be mediated by Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former president and AU’s high representative in the Horn of Africa, Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s former president and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, South Africa's former deputy president. “It is a meeting of colleagues, colleagues who know each other,” Kenyatta said during the meeting with the Ethiopian government and TPLF officials. “We are here as facilitators and I am certain that after this gathering, we’ll be working together for the benefit of Ethiopia and ultimately make Africa a better place,” Kenyatta added.
