Geneva — A ceasefire brokered after weeks of shuttle diplomacy took effect Sunday along the contested border region that has seen intermittent fighting since the spring, with both sides reporting no major violations in the first 48 hours.
Under the agreement, mediated by a joint delegation from the African Union and the United Nations, both parties agreed to withdraw heavy weapons from a 10-kilometre buffer zone and to allow international monitors access within two weeks. More than 200,000 people had been displaced by the fighting.
Humanitarian agencies welcomed the truce but said much of the displaced population would need months of support before any return home was feasible, citing destroyed infrastructure and unexploded ordnance in former front-line areas. Diplomats cautioned that previous ceasefires in the region had collapsed within weeks, and said sustained monitoring would be critical.