Obasanjo is a Peace Maker: Two Years Conflict Over

 

Ethiopia and Tigray forces have agreed to end their two-year conflict after Obasanjo’s intervention.

Eko Hot Blog reports that the African Union (AU) mediator, Olusegun Obasanjo, has announced that the parties in the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray have agreed to a “permanent cessation of hostilities”.

The announcement came just more than a week after formal peace talks began in South Africa.

In a briefing on the peace talks on Wednesday, Obasanjo also said that Ethiopia’s government and Tigrayan authorities have agreed on “orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament” along with “restoration of law and order,” “restoration of services” and “unhindered access to humanitarian supplies”.

According to the former Nigerian President, the agreement marked a new “dawn” for Ethiopia.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed hailed Wednesday’s breakthrough deal and said it would be implemented.

“The commitment to peace remains steadfast. And our commitment to collaborating for the implementation of the agreement is equally strong,” he said in a statement.

Similarly, Tigray’s rebels hailed the deal and said they had made concessions.

“We are ready to implement and expedite this agreement,” the head of their delegation, Getachew Reda, said.

“In order to address the pains of our people, we have made concessions because we have to build trust.

“Ultimately, the fact that we have reached a point where we have now signed an agreement speaks volumes about the readiness on the part of the two sides to lay the past behind them to chart a new path of peace.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres welcomed the truce.

“It is very much a welcome first step, which we hope can start to bring some solace to the millions of Ethiopian civilians that have really suffered during this conflict,” the spokesperson for the secretary-general, Stephane Dujarric, told reporters.

The United States also hailed the agreement.

“The African Union’s announcement of the signing of a cessation of hostilities between the government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front represents an important step towards peace,” US Department of State spokesman Ned Price told reporters.

The conflict broke out in November 2020, pitting regional forces from Tigray against Ethiopia’s federal army and its allies, which include forces from other regions and from neighbouring Eritrea.

It has killed thousands of people, displaced millions from their homes and left hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine.

Click to watch our video for the week: