Antony Blinken calls Ethiopia and Tigray ceasefire a 'momentous step' towards peace

Agreement announced by African Union following peace talks in South Africa

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  Redwan Hussien Rameto, second left, representative of the Ethiopian government, and Getachew Reda, second right, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front, sign a peace agreement regarding the African Union-led negotiations to resolve conflict in Ethiopia at the Department of International Relations and Co-operation offices in Pretoria, South Africa. AFP

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  Representatives from Ethiopia and representatives from Tigray attend a press conference. AFP

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  Redwan Hussien Rameto, representative of the Ethiopian government. AFP

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  Getachew Reda, representative of the Tigray People's Liberation Front. AFP

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  Former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta, left, arrives for peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Tigrayan People's Liberation Front. AFP

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  Youngsters walk next to an abandoned tank south of the town of Mehoni, Ethiopia. AFP

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  The airport in Bahir Dar, the capital city of the Amhara region of northern Ethiopia. AP

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  Protestors outside the Emirates stadium in London raise awareness of conflict in the Tigray region of Ethiopia. Reuters

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  UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi, centre, speaks with Clementine Nkweta-Salami, right, UNHCR regional bureau director for the East, Horn and Great Lakes regions of Africa. AP Photo

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  A destroyed tank is seen in a field in the aftermath of fighting between the Ethiopian National Defence Force and the Tigray People's Liberation Front forces in Kasagita town, in Afar region, Ethiopia. Reuters

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  Ethiopians protest at a rally organised by the city administration against what they say is interference by outsiders in the country's internal affairs and against the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the party of Tigray's fugitive leaders, in Ethiopia's capital Addis Ababa. AP Photo

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  A man waves an Ethiopian flag as he join others gathering in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia during a demonstration in support of Ethiopia armed forces. AFP

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  A satellite image shows the deployment of heavy weaponry in the town of Serha, Eritrea, near the border with Ethiopia's Tigray region. Reuters

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  A man gestures as he shouts during a protest at the Embassy of the United States of America in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. AFP

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  Workers from the International Committee of the Red Cross deliver lifesaving medical supplies into Mekelle, Tigray region, Ethiopia. Reuters

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  Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, left, meets with United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres at the UN headquarters. AP Photo

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  A convoy of trucks part of the World Food Programme (WFP) on their way to Tigray are seen in the village of Erebti, Ethiopia. The Afar region, the only passageway for humanitarian convoys bound for Tigray, is itself facing a serious food crisis, due to the combined effects of the conflict in northern Ethiopia and the drought in the Horn of Africa which have notably caused numerous population displacements. More than a million people need food aid in the region according to the World Food Programme. AFP

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  Captive Ethiopian soldiers arrive at the Mekele Rehabilitation Centre in Tigray, Ethiopia, after a four-day journey from Abdi Eshir. All photos: AFP

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  Women welcome Tigray People's Liberation Front fighters as they return to Mekele after seizing control of the city in June 2021.

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  Ethiopians who fled the Tigray conflict wait to charge their phones at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan.

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  A member of the Afar Special Forces stands in front of the debris of a house on the outskirts of the village of Bisober in Tigray.

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  People hold candles and Ethiopian flags at a memorial service for the victims of the Tigray conflict in Addis Ababa.

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  An Ethiopian refugee who fled fighting in Tigray waits behind a fence in a camp in Sudan.

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  Refugees living in a camp in Sudan after fleeing violence in Tigray.

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  A woman walks among the remains of a destroyed factory in Ataye, Ethiopia, where more than 100 civilians died in a recent flare-up of violence.

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  Two members of the Amhara militia ride in the back of a pick-up truck. Amharas and Tigrayans were uneasy neighbours before the current fighting, with tension over land sparking violent clashes.

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  Militias from the Amhara region have been involved in the fighting in Tigray.

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  Tens of thousands of Ethiopians gather at a rally organised by the mayor of Addis Ababa to show support for the military's efforts in Tigray.

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  Zeleke Alabachew, farmer and militia fighter, tends to his land near the village of Tekeldengy, Ethiopia, Africa's second most populous nation.

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  People celebrate the liberation of opposition leaders in the city of Alamata, Ethiopia.

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  A family fleeing violence sit in a former classroom at May Weyni secondary school, now hosting 10,500 displaced people, in Mekele, capital of Tigray.

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  Ethiopian refugees travel to Sudan to escape violence in Tigray.

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  Ethiopian refugees gather to celebrate the 46th anniversary of the Tigray People's Liberation Front at Um Raquba refugee camp in Gedaref, Sudan. The TPLF dominated Ethiopian politics before being ousted from their regional stronghold last year.

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  An Ethiopian refugee sets up a tent in a camp in the town of Gedaref, Sudan, after being transported from the border reception centre.

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  Pro-Tigrayan demonstrators display placards during a protest in front of the chancellery in Berlin.

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  The aftermath of heavy shelling in Wukro, a city north of Mekele, in Ethiopia.

The US has called an agreement between the Ethiopian government and rebel Tigray forces to cease hostilities a "momentous step".

The agreement was announced by an African Union envoy following peace talks in South Africa.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he hoped it would mean an end to the two-year conflict. He said the US was open to improving relations with Ethiopia.

"We welcome the momentous step taken in Pretoria today to advance the African Union's campaign to 'silence the guns'," he said on Wednesday.

"We welcome the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian assistance and the protection of civilians that should result from implementation of this agreement."

Mr Blinken praised the "extraordinary efforts" of African Union mediators including Nigeria's former president Olusegun Obasanjo, Kenya's former president Uhuru Kenyatta and South Africa, the host of the talks that involved US envoy Mike Hammer.

Officials at the talks, from left, Kenya's former president Uhuru Kenyatta, the lead negotiator for Ethiopia's government, Redwan Hussein, African Union envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, lead Tigray negotiator Getachew Reda, and former South Africa's vice president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka. AP

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said the agreement was "very much a welcome first step, which we hope can start to bring some solace to the millions of Ethiopian civilians that have really suffered during this conflict".

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in 2020 after accusing the Tigray People's Liberation Front — a group that spent decades at the centre of Ethiopian politics — of attacking federal army camps.

Since then, the fighting in Africa's second most populous country has forced more than two million people from their homes.

Researchers estimate that at least 600,000 people have died in Tigray, either as a direct result of the fighting or from related issues such as famine or the healthcare crisis caused by the Ethiopian government's blockade of the northern region.

The EU called for the launch of broader political talks and accountability for the victims of the fighting to ensure a lasting peace.

"It remains of the utmost importance that the victims see justice being brought upon the perpetrators of those crimes," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said. "Accountability is a cornerstone for lasting peace and reconciliation."

The two-year conflict has severely soured relations between the US and its historic ally Ethiopia, with President Joe Biden's administration removing the East African nation from a major trade pact, citing human rights concerns.

While stopping short of promising a return of Ethiopia to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, US State Department spokesman Ned Price said of the agreement with the rebels, "It does present an opportunity, a bilateral opportunity, for the United States and Ethiopia."

Mr Blinken welcomed a statement by Mr Abiy, who promised to implement the accord.

He said the US shared "his desire for an enhanced partnership to support reconstruction and development for all communities in northern Ethiopia affected by the conflict".