Ethiopian government and Tigray rebels sign ceasefire London police officers given up to 12 weeks in prison for racist chatter

After nearly two years of war, the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) have agreed on an immediate ceasefire. The African Union mediator, former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo, said on Wednesday after negotiations in South Africa: “Both sides have formally agreed on the cessation of hostilities and (…) on disarmament,” Obasanjo said. As part of the deal, the parties to the conflict have agreed to restore law, order, public services and access to relief supplies, Obasanjo said.

The parties to the conflict signed the live cameras agreement in South Africa’s capital, Pretoria. They had previously negotiated behind closed doors for more than a week. The swift implementation of the agreement in all its aspects is now “critical,” Obasanjo said. “This moment is not the end of the process, but the beginning of it.”

The conflict between the Addis Ababa government and the TPLF started in November 2020 after the TPLF held regional elections in the northern region of Tigray, despite a ban from Addis Ababa. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed called a humanitarian ceasefire in the spring of 2022, which the TPLF joined. However, this was broken at the end of August. Observers now assume that more than half a million have died since the start of the war. (saw/sda/dpa)