UN Chief Calls for ‘Unconditional and Immediate’ Ethiopian Ceasefire

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the media at the end of his visit to mark five years since the signing of a peace deal between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government in Bogota, Colombia November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the media at the end of his visit to mark five years since the signing of a peace deal between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government in Bogota, Colombia November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
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UN Chief Calls for ‘Unconditional and Immediate’ Ethiopian Ceasefire

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the media at the end of his visit to mark five years since the signing of a peace deal between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government in Bogota, Colombia November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres addresses the media at the end of his visit to mark five years since the signing of a peace deal between the FARC rebels and the Colombian government in Bogota, Colombia November 24, 2021. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres called for an end to fighting in Ethiopia while in Colombia's capital Bogota, urging Ethiopian leaders to follow the Andean country's example of peace.

Guterres, who was visiting Colombia to mark the five-year anniversary of the peace deal between the government and the demobilized leftist Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) guerrillas, called for an immediate end to hostilities, Reuters reported.

"The peace process in Colombia today inspires me to make an urgent call to the protagonists of the conflict in Ethiopia for an unconditional and immediate ceasefire," Guterres said during a joint address with Colombia's President Ivan Duque.

War in Ethiopia broke out in November 2020 in the country's Tigray region between Ethiopian federal troops and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front. In July, the conflict spread into two neighboring regions in northern Ethiopia.

Ending fighting in Ethiopia would allow a dialogue to take place between Ethiopians, Guterres said, permitting the country to once again contribute to the stability of the region.

"I would very much like Colombia to be the example followed by the leaders in Ethiopia," Guterres added.

Guterres also urged Colombian lawmakers to ratify the ratify Escazu Accord, an agreement among Latin American and Caribbean countries that enshrines protections for those working on environmental causes.

According to advocacy group Global Witness, Colombia is the most dangerous country for environmental defenders in the world, with a record 65 killed in 2020.

Colombia's government has blamed crime gangs and leftist rebels involved in drug trafficking for the rise in activist killings.



Russian Drone Strikes Apartment Block in Ukraine, Killing Four

People run as smoke rises from an explosion during what the governor of Russia's Ryazan region southeast of Moscow describes as an air attack, in Ryazan, Ryazan Region, Russia in this still image obtained from social media video released January 24, 2025. Social Media/via REUTERS
People run as smoke rises from an explosion during what the governor of Russia's Ryazan region southeast of Moscow describes as an air attack, in Ryazan, Ryazan Region, Russia in this still image obtained from social media video released January 24, 2025. Social Media/via REUTERS
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Russian Drone Strikes Apartment Block in Ukraine, Killing Four

People run as smoke rises from an explosion during what the governor of Russia's Ryazan region southeast of Moscow describes as an air attack, in Ryazan, Ryazan Region, Russia in this still image obtained from social media video released January 24, 2025. Social Media/via REUTERS
People run as smoke rises from an explosion during what the governor of Russia's Ryazan region southeast of Moscow describes as an air attack, in Ryazan, Ryazan Region, Russia in this still image obtained from social media video released January 24, 2025. Social Media/via REUTERS

A Russian drone struck a multi-storey apartment building in the northeastern Ukrainian city of Sumy early on Thursday, killing four people and injuring nine, including a child, the regional authorities said.

Governor Volodymyr Artyukh, shown in a video on Telegram in front of a crane and piles of rubble, said emergency services were pulling residents out from parts of the building, Reuters reported.

The attack ruined five apartments and damaged over 20 cars, authorities said. Work on site continued into Thursday morning, with emergency services sharing pictures of rescuers sifting through the rubble.

The region borders Russia's Kursk region, where Ukraine launched an incursion in August 2024, and has been regularly attacked by Russian drones.

Russia denies deliberately targeting civilians but thousands have been killed and injured after Moscow's troops launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.