Ethiopia names negotiators for looming Tigray peace process

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Ethiopian authorities have named a team of seven negotiators for possible peace talks with Tigray forces. The announcement comes after Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed announced earlier in June the formation of a committee to handle negotiations with Tigray’s ruling party, which was declared a terrorist group by the government last year.  Justice Minister Gedion Timothewos told state media that “the ruling Prosperity Party has laid out plans to settle the war in northern Ethiopia peacefully.” Tigray’s leaders have not yet commented on the latest announcement by the federal authorities of the East African nation. The African Union special envoy, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, has been traveling within Ethiopia in recent weeks to encourage negotiations.