What are the details of Ethiopias announcement of an immediate ceasefire in Tigray?
State media published the governments statement, shortly after the Tigray Interim Administration, appointed by the central government, fled the capital, Mekele, and called for a humanitarian ceasefire to allow aid to be delivered there. Ethiopias statement said the ceasefire will enable farmers to plow their lands, aid groups to operate without any military movement around it, and to engage with remnants of (former ruling Tigray Party) who seek peace, adding that efforts to bring former Tigrayan leaders to justice will continue. Ethiopia stated that the ceasefire will continue until the end of the important planting season in Tigray, knowing that the season ends in September. The government ordered all federal and provincial authorities to respect the ceasefire. And theThe Ethiopian governments announcement comes After nearly 8 months of bloody conflict, hundreds of thousands of people faced the worlds worst famine crisis in a decade. The government bears the responsibility to find a political solution to the problem, said Abraham Pillay, head of the interim government, explaining that some elements in the former ruling party of Tigray are ready to deal with the central government. There was no immediate comment from the Tigrayan fighters, with whom Ethiopia refused to hold talks, and there was no immediate comment from neighboring Eritrea, whose soldiers have been accused by Tigray residents of abuses in the conflict. Thousands of people were killed in the crisis, while Ethiopian and allied forces pursued former Tigrayan leaders and their supporters. In recent days, the region witnessed one of the fiercest fighting in the conflict, and international pressure on Ethiopia escalated again last week after a military air raid on a crowded market in Tigray killed more than 60 people.