Ethiopian Security Forces and Tigray rebel forces have reached a peace deal. The peace deal was brokered by Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Kenya’s former President Uhuru Kenyatta through the African Union.
On Wednesday Obasanjo in a surprise win, led the team that announced a cessation of hostilities in Ethiopia, marking a diplomatic breakthrough in a conflict that has killed thousands, displaced millions and left many starving.
Aware that permanent progress in ending two years of fighting with roots that can be traced far further back in Ethiopia’s history, the former army officer struck a cautious note.
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“This moment is not the end of the peace process,” the African Union mediator said. “Implementation of the peace agreement signed today is critical for its success.”
Welcoming Ethiopia’s government and the Tigray forces to a signing ceremony on Wednesday in South Africa’s capital Pretoria, where talks have been held since Oct. 25, Obasanjo said the agreement would allow the restoration of humanitarian supplies to Tigray.
“Today is the beginning of a new dawn for Ethiopia, for the Horn of Africa and indeed for Africa as a whole,” he said.
“The two parties in the Ethiopian conflict have formally agreed to the cessation of hostilities as well as the systematic, orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament,” Obasanjo said at a briefing in Pretoria.
They also agreed on a “restoration of law and order, restoration of services, unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, protection of civilians… among other areas of agreement”, he added.
Tigray, a region of six million people, has been under a communications blackout for much of the conflict, lacking basic services and facing dire shortages of food, fuel, and medicines.
The conflict erupted on November 4, 2020, when Nobel peace laureate Abiy sent troops into Tigray after accusing the TPLF, the regional ruling party, of attacking federal army camps.
