Hopes for peace after catastrophic civil conflict

A truce was last week agreed between the two sides in the Ethiopian civil war which has killed more than half a million people and put hundreds of thousands on the brink of famine.

Abiy Ahmed’s government and the authorities in the northern Tigray region agreed the deal on the eve of the war’s second anniversary after talks in South Africa.

The conflict erupted on November 4, 2020 when Abiy sent troops into Tigray after accusing the regional ruling party, the TPLF, of attacking federal army camps.

That triggered a humanitarian emergency, and prompted allegations that Abiy’s government put millions of people beyond the reach of help.

Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, who mediated the truce talks, said: “The two parties in the Ethiopian conflict have formally agreed to the cessation of hostilities as well as the systematic, orderly and co-ordinated disarmament.”

Redwan Hussein, the Ethiopian government’s lead negotiator, said: “It is now for all of us to honour this agreement.” Tigray negotiator Getachew Reda said it had compromised to end the violence.