Ethiopian government declares 'indefinite humanitarian truce'

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Ethiopia's government on Thursday declared "an indefinite humanitarian truce effective immediately," which it hoped would accelerate the delivery of emergency aid into the Tigray region, where hundreds of thousands face starvation.

Since war broke out in northern Ethiopia in November 2020, thousands have died, and many more have been forced to flee their homes as the conflict has expanded from Tigray to the neighbouring regions of Amhara and Afar.

In a statement, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government said it "is committed to exert maximum effort to facilitate the free flow of emergency humanitarian aid into the Tigray region."

"To optimise the success of the humanitarian truce, the government calls upon the insurgents in Tigray to desist from all acts of further aggression and withdraw from areas they have occupied in neighbouring regions," the statement added.

The government hoped "that this truce will substantially improve the humanitarian situation on the ground and pave the way for the resolution of the conflict in northern Ethiopia without further bloodshed."

Nearly 40% of Tigray people face "extreme lack of food"

The conflict erupted when Abiy sent troops into Tigray to topple the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) - the region's former ruling party - claiming the move came in response to rebel attacks on army camps. 

Fighting has dragged on for over a year, triggering a humanitarian crisis, as accounts have emerged of mass rapes and massacres, with both sides accused of human rights violations.

According to the UN, more than 400,000 people have been displaced in Tigray.

The UN reported in January that nearly 40% of the people in Tigray, a region of six million people, face "an extreme lack of food," with fuel shortages forcing aid workers to deliver medicines and other crucial supplies by foot.

9 million+ people need food aid

In addition, the UN's World Food Programme estimated that more than nine million people need food aid across the Afar, Amhara, and Tigray regions.

The road from Afar's capital, Semera, to Tigray's capital Mekele is the only operational land route into Tigray, where the UN estimates hundreds of thousands are living in famine-like conditions.

It is noteworthy that Ethiopian lawmakers recently decided to lift the state of emergency as mediation attempts to settle the deadly war in the north continue.