The Ethiopian government and Tigray leaders have agreed on a truce to end a conflict that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions and created a desperate humanitarian crisis in northern Ethiopia.
The African Union's mediator announced Wednesday the "permanent cessation of hostilities" following talks in Pretoria, South Africa, almost two years to the day since the start of the war.
Ethiopia's government and Tigray authorities have agreed on "orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament," declared AU mediator and former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.
"Today is the beginning of a new dawn for Ethiopia, for the Horn of Africa and indeed for Africa as a whole."
Civilians in the crossfire
The two sides have agreed on "restoration of law and order, restoration of services, unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, protection of civilians”.
The United Nations says the war has led to a de facto blockade of Tigray, with humanitarian supplies of food and medicine unable to get through throughout most of the last two years.
UN human rights investigators have said the Ethiopian government was using "starvation of civilians" as a weapon of war.
Doctors have described running out of basic medicines, leaving people to die of easily preventable diseases and starvation.
Lasting truce?
Obasanjo cautioned Wednesday that "this moment is not the end of the peace process but the beginning of it. Implementation of the peace agreements signed today is critical."
Diplomatic efforts to bring to the negotiating table the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) – a guerrilla movement turned political party which dominated Ethiopia for 27 years – intensified after a five-month truce was broken in late August and fighting resumed.
"We are ready to implement and expedite this agreement," said the head of the Tigray delegation, Getachew Reda, who added that they had “made concessions, because we have to build trust.”
Abiy expressed gratitude to Obasanjo and other mediators, saying in a statement the government's commitment to the implementation of the agreement was strong.
"Our commitment to peace remains steadfast. And our commitment to collaborating for the implementation of the agreement is equally strong," the statement on Twitter said.
Fighting continues
The negotiations in Pretoria were the first formal dialogue between the Ethiopian government and the TPLF since the conflict began.
Secret contacts were held previously in Seychelles and Djibouti, according to a Western official.
And even during the last week of negotiations, intense fighting had continued in Tigray, with Ethiopian and Eritrean troops capturing a string of towns from the rebels.
Western governments had called for a withdrawal of Eritrean forces from Ethiopia, though Eritrea did not participate in the talks and there was no mention Wednesday of whether they would respect the truce.
Deeper issues
The agreement also does not address the deeper political tensions that contributed to the conflict, which stems from a breakdown in relations between the TPLF and Abiy, who was once part of their ruling coalition.
Abiy’s signing a peace deal with Eritrea in 2020 and the TPLF's decision to hold regional elections in Tigray while Abiy had postponed national ones tipped the parties into war.
The TPLF has accused Abiy of centralising power and oppressing Tigrayans, which he denies; Abiy has accused the TPLF of seeking to return to power at the national level, which it rejects.
The AU said in a statement it stood ready to continue accompanying the Ethiopian peace process "towards a more democratic, just and inclusive Ethiopia in which youth, women and men participate fully and in peace".
"The lasting solution can only be through political engagement and being able to accommodate our differences, our diversity, while still remaining a united Ethiopia,” said former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, a co-mediator in the talks.
“The lasting solution can only be dialogue."
(with wires)
