Addis Ababa city police officers are seen during a parade to present the new logo and uniforms of Ethiopian police force at Meskel Square in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, June 19, 2021.(Photo: Xinhua)

The African Union and the US see a small window of opportunity to end fighting in Ethiopia, they said on Monday, as the UN warned that the risk of Ethiopia spiraling into a widening civil war is "only too real."

The AU envoy for the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, and UN political affairs chief Rosemary DiCarlo both briefed the UN Security Council.

Speaking from Ethiopia, Obasanjo said that by the end of the week "we hope to have a program in hand that will indicate" how they can achieve humanitarian access and a withdrawal of troops that satisfies all the parties. The UN estimates 400,000 people in the northern region of Tigray are living in famine-like conditions following a year of war.

"All these leaders, here in Addis Ababa and in the north, agree individually that the differences between them are political and require a political solution through dialogue," Obasanjo told the 15-member council, but stressed: "The window of opportunity we have is very little and that time is short."

The US State Department also said on Monday that Washington believes there is a small window to work with the AU to make progress on ending the conflict as US envoy for the Horn of Africa, Jeffrey Feltman, returned to Addis Ababa.

The AU earlier on Monday held a closed-door meeting to discuss the crisis.

The conflict started in November 2020 when forces loyal to the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), seized military bases in Tigray. In response, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent more troops to the northern region. Thousands have been killed and more than 2 million have fled their homes.

Ethiopia's UN Ambassador Taye Atske Selassie Amde told the UN Security Council: "Our route to a dialogue and political solution will not be straightforward or easy."

"For now we're focused on halting TPLF and rescuing and reaching our public that suffered immensely," he said.

The war has intensified in recent weeks. Tigrayan forces and their allies are threatening to march on Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa, while the government has declared a six-month state of emergency.

"It is time to put your weapons down," US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said at the Security Council. 

The TPLF had dominated national politics for nearly three decades but lost influence when Abiy took office in 2018. The TPLF accused him of centralizing power at the expense of regional states. Abiy denies this.

Obasanjo told the council he had met with Abiy, the leader of Ethiopia's Oromio region and traveled to Mekelle on Sunday to meet TPLF leaders. He plans to travel to the regions of Amhara and Afar on Tuesday, where the conflict has spread from neighboring Tigray.

Reuters