Ethiopian government calls for formal ceasefire with Tigray rebels

Ethiopia's peace committee says it has drawn up a "peace proposal" to try to end the war that erupted in November 2020, but Tigray rebels dismiss the call as "obfuscation".

Tigray rebels have long insisted that basic services would have to be restored to the region of six million people before dialogue could begin. (Reuters)

The Ethiopian government has called for a formal Tigray ceasefire agreement to be reached as soon as possible to enable the resumption of basic services to the war-stricken northern region.

A committee established in June to explore the possibility of talks with Tigrayan rebels said on Wednesday it had drawn up a "peace proposal" to try to end the war that erupted in November 2020.

The announcement came on the same day that the World Health Organisation described the situation in Tigray as the "worst disaster on Earth".

And the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) dismissed the committee's call as "obfuscation", saying the government of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had shown no real appetite for dialogue.

"In order to ensure a sustained provision of humanitarian aid as well as to facilitate the resumption of basic services and also to resolve the conflict peacefully; the committee has underscored that there is a need to conclude a ceasefire agreement as soon as possible," the Ethiopian peace committee said in a statement.

"To expedite this process, the committee has deliberated upon and adopted a peace proposal that would lead to the conclusion of a ceasefire and lay the foundation for future political dialogue."

The TPLF has long insisted that basic services would have to be restored to the region of six million people before dialogue could begin.

READ MORE: Ethiopia: Ready for talks with Tigray rebels without preconditions

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-znVq7UNgNI[/embed]

Push to end the conflict

Fighting has eased in northern Ethiopia since a truce was declared at the end of March, allowing the resumption of desperately needed international aid convoys to Tigray after a break of three months.

Ethiopia's northernmost region has suffered desperate food shortages and is without access to basic services such as electricity, communications and banking.

Ethiopia's peace committee, meanwhile, said it would submit its peace proposal to the African Union (AU).

The AU has been leading the push to end a conflict that has killed untold numbers of people and left millions in need of humanitarian aid.

"All effort is being exerted in collaboration with the African Union so that it would be possible to determine the venue and time for talks and to begin peace talks quickly and to conclude a ceasefire agreement shortly," it said.

Abiy's government says any negotiations must be led by the AU's Horn of Africa envoy Olusegun Obasanjo but the rebels want outgoing Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to mediate.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who is from Tigray, described on Wednesday the "man-made catastrophe" there as the "worst disaster on Earth" and slammed global leaders for overlooking the humanitarian crisis.

READ MORE: UN refugee agency: Food crisis to push displacement levels even higher

Source: AFP

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Senegal, southern rebels ink deal to end one of Africa's oldest conflicts

Agreement signed in neighbouring Guinea-Bissau allows rebels fighting a separatist campaign in Casamance region since 1982 to lay down arms and work towards permanent peace.

Casamance, Senegal's southernmost region, is almost separated from the rest of the country by the tiny country of The Gambia. (TRTWorld)

Senegal has signed an agreement with rebels from the country's south who pledged to lay down their arms and work towards a permanent peace in the home of one of Africa's oldest active rebellions.

Rebel leader Cesar Atoute Badiate, head of a unit of the Movement of Democratic Forces of Casamance (MFDC), and an emissary of Senegalese President Macky Sall signed the peace deal in Guinea-Bissau on Thursday.

Sall had made a "definitive peace" in the Casamance region one of the priorities of his second term.

"How many people died, (were) mutilated or left their village? We will accompany you in the search for peace," Guinea-Bissau President Umaro Sissoco Embalo told Badiate during the signing ceremony.

Embalo, who is also head of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), added: "I can assure you that we will be the guarantors of this agreement."

The signed document remains confidential for the time being.

"I welcome the peace agreement and laying down of arms signed this August 4 in Bissau between Senegal and the provisional committee of the political and combatant wings of the MFDC," Sall said on Twitter.

"I remain committed to the consolidation of lasting peace in Casamance," he added, thanking Embalo for his mediation.

READ MORE: Senegal launches military operation against rebels in south

Casamance's unstable past

Casamance, Senegal's southernmost region, is almost separated from the rest of the country by the tiny state of The Gambia. It has a distinct culture and language derived from its past as a former Portuguese colony.

The MFDC has led a low-intensity separatist campaign since 1982 that has claimed several thousand lives.

But the conflict was mostly dormant until Senegal launched a major offensive last year to drive out the rebels.

In a clash on January 24, four Senegalese soldiers were killed and seven were captured alive and taken across the border to The Gambia. The rebels released the hostages the following month.

In March, the army launched a new operation in which it claimed to have destroyed several rebel bases for the loss of one soldier and eight wounded.

READ MORE: Gunmen kill 13 in southern Senegal

Source: AFP

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