Ethiopia’s government and Tigray rebels have reached a truce, two years after the outbreak of a civil war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and pushed the province’s citizens to the brink of famine.

Ethiopia’s government and rebels in Tigray province have reached an agreement for a permanent cessation of hostilities, the African Union announced, calling it a “new dawn”.

The ceasefire agreement was sealed during negotiations, under the auspices of the African Union, between delegations of the two sides in Pretoria, South Africa, where it was officially signed yesterday, Wednesday, November 2.

The rebels welcomed the agreement stressing that they intend to implement the agreement as soon as possible and leave everything behind so as to forge a new path to peace.

The announcement of the ceasefire is a welcome first step, commented the representative of the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres. 

Rebels and the federal army – backed by forces from neighboring provinces and the Eritrean Αrmy – have been clashing in Tigray since November 2020. A ceasefire was declared in the spring, but fighting resumed in August. Federal government forces recently announced that they had captured several towns in Tigray.

Recurring clashes and the inability to send humanitarian aid to Tigray’s six million residents have alarmed the international community as the war has plunged the region into one of its worst humanitarian crises.

The number of victims is unknown. Journalists do not have access to northern Ethiopia and communications with the region are problematic, making it impossible to verify information from independent sources. 

The UN estimates that up to half a million people may have been killed. More than two million have been displaced and hundreds of thousands have fallen into a situation leading to famine.

Source: CNN Greece

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