The Chairperson of the African Union Moussa Faki Mahamat praised the release of high-profile Ethiopian opposition leaders on Saturday who were detained after being accused of forceful change of political power, treason and incitement of unrest.

“I welcome the release of political prisoners in #Ethiopia and commend this development as an important first step towards political dialogue and national reconciliation,” Mahamat tweeted.

The Ethiopian government freed several leaders to open a new chapter of reconciliation and consensus in a politically and ethnically fractured nation that saw war and anti-government armed insurgency resulting in the deaths and displacement of thousands of people.