Ethiopia cease-fire agreement “a welcome first step”: UN

A cease-fire agreement between Ethiopian government and regional Tigray forces is “a welcome first step,” which hopefully can serve as solace to millions that have suffered during the two-year conflict, a United Nations spokesman said.

“This 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,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told a regular press briefing.

Guterres urged all Ethiopians and the international community to support the cease-fire agreement between the Ethiopian government and regional Tigray forces.

Guterres welcomes the signing of the agreement, and sees it as a “bold step” and “a critical first step” towards ending the devastating two-year-old conflict in which the lives and livelihoods of many Ethiopians have been lost, said Dujarric in a statement.

The UN chief pledges his support to the parties in the implementation of the agreement, and urges them to continue with negotiations on the outstanding issues in a spirit of reconciliation in order to reach a lasting political settlement, silence the guns and put the country back on the path to peace and stability, the statement said.

The secretary-general appeals to all stakeholders to seize the opportunity to scale up humanitarian assistance to all civilians in need and to restore the desperately needed public services, it added.

Guterres also commends the African Union and its high-level panel for the facilitation of the peace talks and South Africa for hosting them.

“The United Nations stands ready to assist the next steps of the African Union-led process and will continue to mobilize much-needed assistance to alleviate suffering in the affected areas,” the statement said.

The Ethiopian government and the country’s regional forces from Tigray on Wednesday agreed to cease hostilities after days of peace talks in Pretoria, South Africa.

In a joint statement, the two sides said they have agreed to permanently silence the guns and end the two years of conflict in northern Ethiopia.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK