Tigrayan forces agree to observe ceasefire declared by Ethiopian government

Rebellious Tigrayan forces in Ethiopia have said they will respect a ceasefire proposed by prime minister Abiy Ahmed's government as long as sufficient aid is delivered to their war-scarred northern region "within reasonable time".

The government in Addis Ababa declared the cessation of hostilities on Thursday, saying it was to allow aid to flow into Tigray.

However, it was not immediately clear how it would enforce this ceasefire on the battlefield, where a mix of regional fighters and volunteer militias have been fighting the Tigrayan forces.

“The government of Tigray will do everything it can do to make sure this cessation of hostilities is a success,” the regional Tigrayan government rebelling against Addis Ababa said in a statement late on Thursday.

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War broke out in November 2020 between Tigray’s rulers – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – and the central government led by Mr Abiy. The conflict followed on from political reforms enacted since Mr Abiy took office in 2018.

The conflict, which later engulfed the neighbouring Amhara and Afar regions, has killed thousands of civilians and displaced millions across northern Ethiopia and into neighbouring Sudan.

The United Nations has said more than 90 per cent of the 5.5 million people in Tigray need food aid.

Record low

Food aid distribution in the mountainous region fell to a new record low this month, due to depleted food stocks, the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Ocha) said in its latest weekly bulletin.

The previous record low was in March last year. Only about 68,000 people in Tigray received food aid in March 10-16th, Ocha said.

Tigray and Amhara were relatively calm during the week of March 15th, but armed clashes were reported in parts of Afar, Ocha said. It did not say who was involved in the fighting.

The federal government has always said aid is allowed to enter Tigray, but only a small amount has gone in since Ethiopian troops withdrew from Tigray at the end of June last year.

Tigray’s leaders have blamed federal authorities and authorities in the Afar and Amhara regions for blocking aid going into Tigray, accusations they deny.

The central government has accused Tigrayan fighters of blocking aid because they have invaded Afar, which is on the only land route currently open into Tigray.

The United Nations and the United States welcomed Addis Ababa's declaration of a ceasefire, which followed a visit by the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, to Addis Ababa this week. – Reuters