NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) 鈥 A new round of talks began Monday between Ethiopia鈥檚 government and Tigray regional representatives to work out military and other details of last week鈥檚 signing of a 鈥減ermanent鈥 cessation of hostilities in a two-year conflict thought to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.
The meetings in Kenya involve the military commanders of both sides along with the leading political negotiators. Issues to be discussed include how to monitor the deal, disarming Tigray forces and the resumption of humanitarian aid access and basic services to Ethiopia鈥檚 northern Tigray region, which has been cut off for months.
鈥淢aybe by the end of this week or the middle of next week鈥 humanitarian aid will be allowed to go in, the Ethiopian government鈥檚 lead negotiator, Redwan Hussein, told journalists. The Tigray lead negotiator, Getachew Reda, said the delivery of aid would increase confidence in the talks.
An official familiar with the talks hosted by the Kenyan government says they are expected to continue through Wednesday. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Already, a communications channel has been established between the two sides to address any incidents 鈥渁s both recognize the challenge of fully communicating with all their units to stop fighting,鈥 the official said.
Those facilitating and attending the talks include African Union envoy and former Nigerian president Olesegun Obasanjo, former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta and Nigerian, South African and Kenyan military officers. The United States and the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development are observers.
Kenyatta said they are 鈥渧ery hopeful next time we鈥檒l be in (the Tigray regional capital) for our meeting鈥 and that both sides will 鈥渦ltimately celebrate together in Addis Ababa," Ethiopia's capital.
Over the weekend, the Ethiopian government's lead negotiator told diplomats that 鈥渨e've sustained colossal damage鈥 and that the finance minister has estimated the country will require nearly $20 billion to rebuild. 鈥淲e'll quickly fix both telecoms and electricity soon鈥 to the Tigray region, he said.
On humanitarian aid to a region where health workers and the United Nations and partners have reported even basic medical supplies running out, Redwan said that 鈥渢he only hiccup we have is ... it is still risky to allow flights until commanders meet to assess the situation.鈥
If the military commanders agree on a timeline, the Ethiopian government believes that once the government controls the airspace and airports in Tigray fully, then 鈥渢he entire Tigray region would be accessible for aid鈥 by road and air, he said.
Neighboring Eritrea, whose forces have fought alongside Ethiopian ones, is not a party to the peace talks, and last week's agreement doesn't mention the country directly. Redwan in his briefing noted that Ethiopia's borders and airspace had been violated during the conflict, 鈥渟o we鈥檙e busy fighting each other, we鈥檙e busy undermining each other. That paved the way for a third party to undermine us further.鈥
He didn't mention Eritrea but added that 鈥渨e may also have a third party which may not be interested in this peace process.鈥
In his first public comment outside the talks, Tigray lead negotiator Getachew responded to questions from some Tigrayans about the agreement and his side's silence. 鈥淲e are fighting not because we are a trigger-happy nation but because our survival as a people is at stake,鈥 he tweeted. "If a peace agreement can ensure our survival, why not give it a try?'
