Ethiopia declares unilateral cease-fire in Tigray region

The government of Ethiopia on Monday declared an immediate, unilateral cease-fire in its northern Tigray region, almost eight months after the deadly conflict broke out.

In a statement published by Fana Broadcasting Corp, the government said the cease-fire will allow farmers to prepare for the approaching rainy season, facilitate humanitarian activities and strengthen the effort to rehabilitate and rebuild the Tigray region.

"While efforts are under way to provide agricultural inputs to the farmers, it has been difficult to ensure that all farmers in the region are able to plant during this farming season," the statement read.

"It is essential that the planting season ahead is not disrupted, lest farming communities will miss it with grave consequences for their livelihoods. There is also an urgent need to accelerate the return of internally displaced persons to their place of origin."

The federal government called upon all stakeholders, both domestic and international, to assist in the full and effective implementation of the humanitarian ceasefire.

An interim government official informed Agence France-Presse that the Tigray Defense Forces, the rebel group, had entered and taken control of Mekele, the region's capital city, amid celebrations by the residents. 

The official said the interim government had opted to flee after the rebel fighters closed in "on every side."

"Everybody has left. The last ones left in the afternoon... The region doesn't have a government," the official told the agency. 

The cease-fire declaration came half a month after seven global leaders in conflict resolution called on Abiy Ahmed, the Ethiopian prime minister, to take immediate action and end the alleged atrocities committed in Tigray region. The leaders proposed seven steps that Ahmed could use to resolve the crisis. 

Also coming as Ethiopians wait for the announcement of general election results, the cease-fire will end the war that has seen several people die and over 350,000 face the world's worst famine crisis. 

The volatile security situation in the Tigray region has been frustrating delivery of humanitarian aid services.  

On Monday, Hanrietta Fore, the executive director of the United Nations Children's Fund complained that members of the Ethiopian National Defense Forces entered their office in Mekele and dismantled their satellite communications equipment.

"This act violates UN privileges and immunities and the rules of International Humanitarian Law regarding respect for humanitarian relief objects. I condemn this action in the strongest terms," Fore wrote in his Twitter account.

"UNICEF's priority in Tigray, and across Ethiopia, is to help the most vulnerable children, including the 140,000 children already facing famine-like conditions. We are not, and should never be, a target."

The cease-fire announcement followed reports of escalation in fighting between the national defense forces and the rebel group. 

On Friday, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the chairman of African Union Commission, raised concerns on the escalation of violence and strongly condemned the brutal murder of humanitarian workers. 

The bodies of three Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors without Borders) workers were discovered on Friday morning, after the agency lost contact with the vehicle that was carrying workers from its Spanish branch. 

The Tigray conflict began in November following a military offensive from the government of Ethiopia after the regional party of Tigray allegedly attacked the Northern Command of Ethiopia's National Defense Force in Mekele, about 780 kilometers north of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.

The fighting has sparked massive displacement, widespread destruction of livelihoods and infrastructure, as well as loss of employment.