U.S. joins last-ditch bid to stop Ethiopia conflict spiraling into an all-out civil war, and "time is short"

Johannesburg — Diplomats were scrambling on Tuesday for a peaceful resolution to the conflict putting hundreds of thousands of civilian lives at risk in Ethiopia. The war between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government and rebels that started a year ago has escalated and is now threatening his hold on power, with a coalition of opposition groups advancing on the capital, Adis Ababa.

In a last-ditch bid to bring the warring parties to the negotiating table, U.S. Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa Jeffrey Feltman returned to Ethiopia this week. The U.S. State Department believes there's still a window of opportunity, working with the African Union, to hammer out a ceasefire agreement. 

It's Feltman's second visit within just a few days, and it comes as the United Nations warns that the risk of Ethiopia's conflict spiraling out of control into a full-blown civil war was "only too real."