Guterich: "The winds of hope" are blowing on Africa through elections and peace agreements

Guterich: "The winds of hope" are blowing on Africa through elections and peace agreements

General Antonio Guterich said on Saturday that it was possible to hold peaceful elections in several African countries and to reach peace agreements in other countries, Winds of hope "blowing on the continent.

Gutierrez was speaking on the sidelines of the African Union (AU) summit in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where the 55-member bloc heads will meet from Sunday.

"We have seen reconciliation between Ethiopia and Eritrea and peace agreements in southern Sudan and the Central African Republic," Guterich said.

"We are working together to see whether we will be able to move in the same direction in Libya, we have seen elections in Madagascar, the Central African Republic and Mali, people expected to lead to tragedy and violence and eventually to peace."

Last year Ethiopia and Eritrea ended two decades of Cold War, while South Sudan is trying to implement the latest peace deal to end the five-year bloody conflict.

This week, the Central African Republic reached a peace agreement between the government and 14 armed groups, bolstering hopes of ending the country´s crisis since 2012 that has led to a conflict that has killed thousands and displaced more than a million.

"This has been achieved through joint efforts by the European Union and the African Union ... to ensure the silence of the guns from 2020 on the African continent," Guterich said. "I think Africa is an example of conflict resolution and prevention, and I hope these winds of hope will extend to other parts of the world," he said.