The European Union and a coalition of Western missions threw their support behind African Union-led mediation to calm rising tensions in Ethiopia’s Tigray region.
In a joint statement, the EU delegations to Ethiopia and the AU, along with France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Norway and Britain, said they were watching developments with growing unease.
They called on all parties to engage constructively in implementing the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement, the fragile pact meant to keep the guns silent.
The group welcomed renewed shuttle diplomacy by AU envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, the former Nigerian president, following his recent trips to Addis Ababa and Mekelle.
A return to war, the missions warned, would prove devastating for a population already gripped by drought and deepening humanitarian need.