UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, has commended Nigeria’s former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, for facilitating the signing of a peace deal between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).
The Peace Pact was brokered by the African Union (AU) and mediated by Obasanjo, who serves as an African Union Mediator. He got the two warring sides to sign the peace agreement in South Africa, on Wednesday.
With the signing of the agreement, the parties to the conflict in Ethiopia’s northern region of Tigray, have agreed on a “permanent cessation of hostilities and an orderly, smooth and coordinated disarmament”, just more than a week after formal peace talks began in South Africa.
In the first briefing on the peace talks, the former Nigeria President said the agreement marked a new “dawn” for Ethiopia.
He added that both sides also agreed on the “restoration of law and order, restoration of services and unhindered access to humanitarian supplies“.
Reacting to the peace pact, Guterres, in a statement issued by his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, said the peace agreement, represented “a critical first step” towards ending the brutal two-year war.
The UN Chief described the peace pact as a promising start to end the hostility, which erupted in November 2020, after months of tension that had destroyed lives and livelihoods.
“The secretary-general urges all Ethiopians and the international community to support the bold step taken today by the Federal Government of Ethiopia and the Tigrayan leadership”, he said.
Guterres pledged his support to the parties in the implementation of the agreement.
