An ex-Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has been named the Africa Union’s (AU’s) envoy to the Horn of Africa.
His appointment was announced in a statement by the chairperson of the AU Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat.
According to Mr Mahamat in the statement, Mr Obasanjo would “intensify engagements with all relevant political actors and stakeholders in the region towards entrenching durable peace and stability within the Horn of Africa”.
Mr Obasanjo’s appointment comes amid political and security crises in the region, in particular in Ethiopia where a civil war has been raging in the northern region of Tigray since November.
The ex-Nigerian President is expected to be in the Horn of Africa over the next few weeks.
The African Union has called on all stakeholders to support Mr Obasanjo.
About The Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is considered the easternmost peninsula of the African continent.
It excludes African islands and lies along the southern boundary of the Red Sea and extends hundreds of kilometers into the Gulf of Aden, Somali Sea and Guardafui Channel, according to Wikipedia.
The region has over the years been affected by armed conflict, with recent fighting in Ethiopia’s Tigray region deepening the crisis.
