Developments follow eight months of fighting that United Nations says has pushed region towards famine
28 Jun 2021
Ethiopia’s government declared a unilateral ceasefire in its northern Tigray region after rebel fighters retook Mekelle, the regional capital, following nearly eight months of conflict that the United Nations says has pushed 350,000 people to the brink of famine.
The Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the former governing party in the region, said on Monday it was back in control of Mekelle, and residents reported seeing troops in Tigray regional uniforms in the city for the first time since November.
“The capital of Tigray, Mekelle, is under our control,” Getachew Reda, spokesperson for the TPLF, told Reuters news agency by satellite phone.
Al Jazeera’s correspondent Malcolm Webb speaking from Nairobi, Kenya, said there were reports of people “celebrating in the streets … and local residents shooting fireworks”.
The statement on the “immediate, unilateral” ceasefire on Monday carried by state media came shortly after the Tigray interim administration, appointed by the federal government after routing TPLF forces, fled Mekelle and called for a truce to allow desperately needed aid to be delivered.
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