A few days ago, the UN appealed for a global ceasefire on the occasion of the coronavirus pandemic. And now, almost incredibly, temporary peace agreements are being reached in one country after another. Various armed groups have responded worldwide by agreeing to lay down their weapons. A positive, surprising and unexpected effect of this global health emergency…

Various armed groups from Syria to Cameroon, from the Philippines to Yemen, are all in favor of the world ceasefire. The news is of historical significance: various factions of warring countries, whether rebels or government armies, have reached a temporary peace agreement in these hours with the aim of defending themselves from an invisible but dangerous enemy, Sars-Cov2 .

In the Philippines, the New People’s Army are to cease assaults and move to a defensive position, starting from Thursday to April 15 . They have made it known as early as Wednesday that they would observe a ceasefire, in accordance with the UN chief’s request to stop armed clashes globally during the coronavirus pandemic.

The defense forces of southern Cameroon (Socadef) have declared their ceasefire which will come into force on Sunday as a “gesture of goodwill”.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also said he accepted the UN Secretary-General’s request to stop armed clashes during the pandemic and said that the Islamic Republic supports any initiative that would end the war against the people of Yemen.  Mousavi said the proposal was also welcomed by Yemen’s national salvation government.

Then there is Syria, where the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have declared themselves available “to stop any military action” in the north-east of the country. Other factions involved in the conflict may join the ceasefire.

Probably no one expected, and even dared to hope, that those who are in charge of wars around the world would respond positively to this call, at least for now.

In our history, there has never been a ceasefire of this magnitude. Once it’s over, let’s hope that this global crisiswill have taught us the importance of striving to keep the peace.

Sources:

https://www.france24.com/en/20200326-warring-sides-in-yemen-back-calls-for-coronavirus-ceasefire

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-52053738

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/calls-total-ceasefire-syria-focus-coronavirus-200324141510047.html