ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia —Ethiopia’s government proclaimed a “indefinite humanitarian cease-fire effective immediately” on Thursday, saying it intended to assist speed up the delivery of critical aid to the #Tigrayregion, where hundreds of thousands are starving.
Thousands have killed and many more have been forced to abandon their homes since war broke out in northern #Ethiopia in November 2020, when the conflict spread from Tigray to the neighboring provinces of Amhara and Afar.
In a statement, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed’s government stated that it “is dedicated to exerting greatest effort to ensure the unimpeded flow of emergency humanitarian aid into the Tigray region.”
“To ensure the humanitarian cease-success, fire’s the government calls for militants in Tigray to refrain from any further action and depart from territories they have captured in surrounding provinces,” it stated.
“The Ethiopian government hopes that this cease-fire will significantly alleviate the humanitarian situation on the ground and pave the way for a peaceful resolution of the war in northern Ethiopia.”
The crisis began when Abiy ordered troops into Tigray to depose the region’s former ruling party, the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), claiming the move was in retaliation to rebel attacks on army facilities.
Fighting has raged for more than a year, resulting in a humanitarian crisis as reports of mass rapes and massacres emerge, with both sides accusing one other of human rights breaches.
According to the United Nations, more than 400,000 people have been displaced in #Tigray.
The region has also been subjected to a de facto blockade, according to the United Nations.
