Ethiopia and Tigray Forces Agree to Truce in Calamitous Civil War

After two years of brutal civil war, the Ethiopian government and the leadership of the northern Tigray region agreed to stop fighting on Wednesday as part of a deal that offered a path out of a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands and displaced millions in Africa’s second-most-populous country.

Senior officials from both sides shook hands and smiled after signing an agreement in South Africa to cease hostilities, following 10 days of peace talks convened by the African Union.

The surprise deal came one day before the second anniversary of the start of the war, on Nov. 3, 2020, when simmering tensions between Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed of Ethiopia and the defiant leaders of the country’s Tigray region exploded into violence.