Govt, Tigray agree to end fighting after 2 years

PRETORIA, SOUTH AFRICA >> Ethiopia’s warring sides agreed to a permanent cessation of hostilities in a conflict believed to have killed hundreds of thousands, but enormous challenges lie ahead, including getting all parties to lay down arms or withdraw. The war in Africa’s secondmost populous country, which marks two years on Friday, has seen abuses documented on both sides, with millions of people displaced and many near famine. A draft text of the agreement says Tigray forces will be disarmed, starting with “light weapons” within 30 days of Wednesday’s signing, and Ethiopian federal security forces will take full control of “all federal facilities, installations, and major infrastructure such as airports and highways within the Tigray region.”