The UN chief Antonio Guterres has urged countries around the world to stop armed conflict as part of “the Olympic truce”, saying during a meeting with International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach that the event was a chance for peace, Al Jazeera reports.

“I want to express the total support of the United Nations to the IOC,” Guterres said. “We live in a divided world where conflicts are proliferating in a dramatic way.

“The horrendous suffering in Gaza, the seemingly endless war in Ukraine, terrible suffering from Sudan to the DRC [Democratic Republic of Congo], from the Sahel to Myanmar.

“In a moment like this it is important to say that the first recorded, in history, real peace initiative was the Olympic truce.”