Women and children in Tigray.
(Image credit: Eduardo Soteras/AFP via Getty Images)

The Ethiopian government on Monday declared an immediate, unilateral cease-fire in Tigray on humanitarian grounds.

Tigray is in the northernmost part of Ethiopia, with its regional government controlled by the Tigray People's Liberation Front. In November, fighting broke out between Ethiopian government forces and the TPLF, and since then, thousands of people in Tigray have been killed and many more displaced.

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The Ethiopian government appointed an interim administration in Tigray, and on Monday, they fled Mekele, the regional capital. Ethiopian troops captured Mekele in late November, and when Tigray forces began their return on Monday, residents cheered, AP reports.

In a statement, the Ethiopian government said the cease-fire will "enable farmers to till their land" and "aid groups to operate without any military movement around," and will last until the end of planting season in September. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he is "hopeful that an effective cessation of hostilities will take place."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.