UN Deputy-Secretary General, Amina Mohammed, on Wednesday reiterated the Secretary-General’s call for the cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia and for a pathway to peace through national dialogue.

The UN deputy chief who made the call at end of her visit to Ethiopia said it was a journey of solidarity with the Ethiopian people.

“It is one that we are convinced, you will find a way and we will accompany the Ethiopian people to that peace.

“Then we can really begin to talk about the investments that we need to make in development. This is important in the short and in the longer term,” Mohammed told journalists in Ethiopia.

Mohammed was in Ethiopia to attend the 35th ordinary session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU) in Addis Ababa on behalf of the secretary-general, António Guterres.

According to her, the AU Summit itself provided an opportunity to speak with African leaders on many issues on the continent – from development to conflict, humanitarian crises – but then stepping off into Ethiopia to witness the tragedies of the conflict.

“There is never a winner in conflict – and see efforts that have been made by the government and people in Ethiopia for peace, visiting the regions, from Tigray to Amhara, Somali.

“This morning to Afar, to hear from the leaders there, to hear from the people, and to hear really what their hopes are and how they will engage with this pathway to peace,” she said.

The official said she also met with many of the workers of the United Nations, in partnership with Ethiopians, in trying to get humanitarian aid and assistance to the people that needed it most.

“The biggest call that we have is that humanitarian assistance needs to get there yesterday, the urgency at which it needs to find, especially women and children that have been affected by this, is extremely important,” she said.

On mediation efforts, Mohammed said the UN had met with some African leaders that continued to speak with the government and with other leaders.

“Today, I was in the field and the African Union Special Envoy, former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, was in Afar and yesterday he was in Tigray.

“So, yes, I think that the talks continue and there is certainly less hostility than there was a few months ago.

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“We are in a much better place and there is much more conversation and dialogue and talk around the national dialogue itself and the way to peace,” she added.

The deputy chief also met with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, noting that the demands were known by all sites.

“We want to see more humanitarian assistance, the cessation of hostilities and the dialogue, the dialogue to answer those demands have not changed,” she said.