By Mohamed Dhaysane
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) – Hundreds of people, including foreign nationals in Djibouti, participated in the African Peace March in solidarity with Palestinians in the Djiboutian city of Arta on Friday.
The peace rally was organized by Djibouti’s Sports Ministry.
Turkish citizens and diplomats, including the Turkish Ambassador to Djibouti Cenk Uraz, also participated in the peace march.
“As an embassy, we participated in the African Peace March organized by the Ministry of Sports of Djibouti in Arta in solidarity with Palestine,” the Turkish Embassy in Djibouti said in a brief statement on X.
The marchers were waving banners with peace slogans and flags of several countries, including the flags of Türkiye, Qatar, Morocco and Palestine.
The peace march comes as the four-day humanitarian pause between the Israeli army and Hamas came into effect on Friday morning in all areas of the Gaza Strip, temporarily stopping attacks for prisoner exchange and aid.
The pause commenced at 7 a.m. local time (0500GMT).
Israel estimates that at least 239 Israelis are being held by Hamas following the cross-border attack by the Palestinian group on Oct. 7.
Djibouti, a small but strategic Horn of Africa nation, is part of countries that have taken a legal route to hold Israel accountable for its actions against Palestinians.
Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, killing more than 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is around 1,200, according to official figures.