The government in Addis Ababa announced the cessation of hostilities on Thursday, saying it was to allow aid to pour into Tigray.
“The Tigray government will do everything it can to ensure a successful end to these hostilities,” the Tigrayan regional government said in a statement late on Thursday.
War broke out between Tigray’s rulers – the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) – and the central government led by Abiy, in November 2020.
The United Nations says more than 90% of the 5.5 million Tigrayans need food aid.
The federal government has always said aid is allowed into Tigray but only a small amount has been brought in since the Ethiopian army withdrew from Tigray at the end of June last year.
Tigray’s leaders have blamed the federal government and authorities in the neighboring regions of Afar and Amhara for preventing aid from entering Tigray, they deny.
The central government accused the Tigrayan warriors of blocking aid because they had invaded Afar, a neighboring area along the only road now open to Tigray.
The United Nations and the United States welcomed Addis Ababa’s unilateral declaration of a ceasefire, following the visit of the US special envoy for the Horn of Africa, David Satterfield, to the capital Addis Ababa this week.
