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Leaders in Banbury and Chipping Norton have called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as followers of different religions held a peace vigil in Banbury Market Place.

Chipping Norton Deputy Mayor Steve Akers this week supported the call for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza War as Town Mayor of Banbury, Cllr Fiaz Ahmed, used the vigil to make his own call for a ceasefire and preservation of life.

There were passionate speeches at the Inter-faith Vigil for Peace on Sunday evening. Mr Ahmed and others made calls calls for peace, an end to the bombing of Gaza and loss of life on all sides of the conflict.

"We must remember that every life is sacred. May we work towards a future where conflict gives way to harmony and all people can live in peace and security,” he said.

Fiaz Ahmed, Town Mayor of Banbury, calls for peace at the inter-faith vigil in Banbury on Sunday

Cllr Akers joined Labour Party representatives across the country, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham and Scottish Labour Leader Anas Sawar in calling for an immediate ceasefire, the opening of the Rafah Crossing and the restoration of water, electricity, food and medical supplies to Gaza.

“The UN Secretary General, the majority of the UN General Assembly, hundreds of world leaders, Amnesty International, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders and hundreds of thousands of people across the world are calling for a ceasefire,” he said. “A quarter of Labour MPs now back some form of a ceasefire.

'We witnessed appalling scenes in Israel on October 7 and we have witnessed appalling scenes in Gaza ever since, with the massive bombardment of one of the most densely populated areas in the world by the IDF.

“Over 8,000 people have now been killed in Gaza, over 3,000 of them children. The true figure is probably much higher as hundreds of people have been crushed as buildings collapsed or they have been blown to pieces.

The Palestinian flag is held aloft at the inter-faith peace vigil in Banbury

“The killing has to stop. Their must be a ceasefire on all sides to stop this appalling carnage. We are witnessing war crimes being committed in front of our eyes.” he said. “I call on the leadership of the Labour Party to support the call for a full ceasefire. This is the immediate requirement.”

Leaders in Banbury and Chipping Norton use peace vigil to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza