Ethiopia truce implementation to start "immediately", mediator says

Meeting on the implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreement between the government of Ethiopia and the forces from Tigray, in Nairobi © Thomson Reuters

NAIROBI - The Ethiopian government and Tigrayan forces on Saturday signed an agreement laying out the roadmap for implementation of a peace deal that both sides reached in South Africa this month.

The implementation would start immediately and would be "in terms of unhindered humanitarian access in terms of protection of civilians in terms of disarmament," mediator Olusegun Obasanjo told a news conference in the Kenyan capital.

Both parties signed the agreement after week-long talks.

The Ethiopian government said Friday its forces controlled 70 percent of the war-stricken northern region of Tigray.