Tigrayan rebels fighting in northern Ethiopia have agreed to respect a ceasefire proposed by the government, marking a turning point in the nearly 17-month war that has killed thousands of people and displaced many more.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government declared a surprise truce on Thursday, saying it hoped the move would ease humanitarian access to Tigray and "pave the way for the resolution of the conflict" in northern Ethiopia.
It called on the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) to "desist from all acts of further aggression and withdraw from areas they have occupied in neighbouring regions".
The rebels issued a statement early Friday saying that they were "committed to implementing a cessation of hostilities effective immediately".
They urged Ethiopian authorities to "go beyond empty promises and take concrete steps to facilitate unfettered humanitarian access to Tigray," where hundreds of thousands face starvation.
Nearly 40 percent of the people in Tigray, a region of six million people, face "an extreme lack of food", the UN said in January, with fuel shortages forcing aid workers to deliver medicines and other crucial supplies by foot.
Time to build
The US, UN, European Union, UK and Canada have all welcomed the truce, which follows a visit to Ethiopia by US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, earlier this week.
"The EU welcomes the declaration of a humanitarian truce by the Gov of Ethiopia and the statement on cessation of hostilities by the Tigrayan Authorities", the EU delegation to Ethiopia said on Twitter.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the United States "urges all parties to build on this announcement to advance a negotiated and sustainable ceasefire, including necessary security arrangements".
Millions need food aid
The conflict erupted in November 2020 when Abiy sent troops into Tigray to topple the TPLF, the region's former ruling party, in response to alleged rebel attacks on army camps.
The UN says thousands have died, and around 400,000 have been forced to flee their homes as the conflict expanded from Tigray to the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar.
More than nine million people need food aid across these three regions, according to the UN's World Food Programme.
#Ethiopia: Latest UN update:
— Addis Standard (@addisstandard) March 25, 2022
*#Tigray food distribution at all-time low since March this year
*only about 68,000 people assisted between 10-16 March
*About 221.8 MT of medical supplies delivered (4% of what's needed)
*No amount of operational cash cleared since 10 March pic.twitter.com/v4WjAxv5aO
Accounts have emerged of mass rapes and massacres, with both sides accused of human rights violations.
The region has also been subject to what the UN says is a de facto blockade.
The United States has also accused Abiy's government of preventing aid from reaching those in need, while the authorities have blamed the rebels for the obstruction.
Washington angered Ethiopia's government by removing trading privileges for the country over rights concerns during the war, but has stopped short of imposing sanctions in the hope of encouraging a ceasefire.
(with wires)
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