Ethiopia, Tigray rebels agree to facilitate prompt, unhindered humanitarian aid access to needy

On Saturday, Ethiopian officials and Tigrayan rebels agreed to facilitate immediate and unhindered humanitarian access to “all in need” in Tigray and the neighbouring regions. This comes days after the two sides had also agreed to a “cessation of hostilities” marking the end of the two-year war.

The two parties met again this week for peace talks in Kenya’s capital city Nairobi where they discussed the full implementation of an agreement signed 10 days ago. The deal previously agreed upon also included restoration of law and order, services as well as “unhindered access to humanitarian supplies, protection of civilians, especially women, children and other vulnerable groups”, as reported by WION earlier.

A joint statement released on Saturday, said, “The parties have agreed to facilitate unhindered humanitarian access to all in need of assistance in Tigray and neighbouring regions.”

This agreement was signed by the chief of staff of Ethiopia’s armed forces’, Berhanu Jula and the commander-in-chief of Tigray rebels, General Tadesse Worede in the presence of African Union mediator and former Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo.

The African Union mediator also said that Saturday’s agreement will take place with “immediate effect”. Additionally, theyhave also decided upon creating a joint committee which will implement the disarmament of fighters with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

“We have suffered untold misery over the last two years and still continue to suffer,” said Tadesse and after this commitment, he hopes that the suffering will soon come to an end. Meanwhile, Berhanu pledged the Ethiopian government’s “full commitment” to bringing about peace and stability to its people and the country.

Restoring aid to Tigray and its six million people was key to the agreement signed between the two sides while the country’s northernmost region is witnessing a severe humanitarian crisis due to lack of food and medicinea and limited access to essentials like electricity, banking and communications.

(With inputs from agencies)

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