Ethiopia govt, rebels agree to ceasefire

The Ethiopian government and the rebel Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on Wednesday announced an agreement to end a two-year-long conflict in Northern Ethiopia.

The peace accord was signed in the South African capital, Pretoria, days after an African Union (AU)-led negotiation, which was facilitated by Olusegun Obasanjo, the AU High Representative for the Horn of Africa and former president of Nigeria, along with the former president of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyatta, and former deputy president of South Africa, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. 

The two parties in the Ethiopian conflict have formally agreed to the cessation of hostilities and orderly disarmament, Obasanjo said at a press briefing on the outcomes of the negotiation.

The deal includes restoring law and order, restoring services and unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, he said. 

The direct talks facilitated by the pan-African bloc were part of the ongoing AU-led process to support the related parties in finding a political solution to the conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia.

Ethiopia, Africa’s second most populous nation, has seen a devastating conflict between government-allied troops and forces loyal to the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) since November 2020, which has left millions in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. 

The agreement is an outcome of African solutions to African problems, Obasanjo said, emphasising that the moment was not the end of the peace process but the beginning of it. 

The peace talks, launched on October 25, paved way for restoring peace, security and stability in the Tigray region, the AU said in a statement on Wednesday. 

“The agreement marks an important step in efforts to silence the guns, and provide a solid foundation for the preservation of Ethiopia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, the immediate cessation of hostilities, the resumption of unhindered humanitarian access, the restoration of services as well as healing and reconciliation,” the statement read.

The High-Level Panel for the AU-led Ethiopian Peace Process congratulated and commended the parties for their “commitment, diligence and stellar leadership throughout the process, and for prioritising the Ethiopian people and the supreme interests of the Ethiopian nation”. -Xinhua 

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