KAMPALA, Uganda \u2014\u00a0As the conflict in Ethiopia\u2019s Tigray province entered the tenth month, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed Ali embarked on shuttle diplomacy in East Africa and the Middle East.<\/p>\n
Ahmed visited Turkey on Aug. 18 at the invitation of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to mark the 125th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, a statement from Turkey\u2019s communications directorate said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the situation deteriorates, all countries in the region will be affected,\u201d Erdogan told a joint media appearance with Abiy.<\/p>\n
Abiy then traveled to Uganda and Rwanda on Aug. 29 and discussed \u201cissues of mutual significance\u201d with presidents\u00a0Yoweri Kaguta Museveni\u00a0<\/a>and\u00a0Paul Kagame<\/a>.<\/p>\n He then visited President\u00a0Macky Sal<\/a>l of Senegal on Sept. 7 and Ghanaian President\u00a0Nana Akufo-Addo\u00a0<\/a>the following day.<\/p>\n \u201cMy appreciation to President\u2026Addo for receiving my delegation and I at the Presidential Palace in Accra today to discuss a wide range of issues. Ethiopia and Ghana will work closely on bilateral and African issues of common interest,\u201d he\u00a0tweeted.<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cEthiopia\u2019s present diplomatic drive in Africa aims to gain support for a new military effort aimed at destroying the TDF [Tigray Defense Forces],\u201d said\u00a0Rashid Abdi<\/a>, a Kenya-based Horn of Africa analyst.<\/p>\n The United Nations Secretary-General Ant\u00f3nio Guterres warned of a \u201chumanitarian catastrophe\u201d as the conflict spreads to other country regions.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd the level of human suffering is growing \u2014 with serious political, economic and humanitarian implications for Ethiopia and the broader region,\u201d he told the\u00a0United Nations Security Council\u00a0<\/a>on Aug. 26.<\/p>\n He said Tigrayan forces have since expanded into neighboring Amhara and Afar regions where fighting has escalated, drawing in regional armed groups.<\/p>\n \u201cAt least 400,000 people are living in famine-like conditions, he said.<\/p>\n