Peace talks aimed at bringing an end to the two-year conflict in Ethiopia's Tigray region have begun in South Africa, a government official said on Tuesday.
The African Union-led talks are scheduled to continue until Sunday, said presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya. Both the Ethiopian government and rebel Tigray forces confirmed delegations had travelled to South Africa.
The talks "have been convened to find a peaceful and sustainable solution to the devastating conflict in the Tigray region", Mr Magwenya told reporters.
It is the first time peace talks have been held over the devastating conflict, estimated to have killed hundreds of thousands of people.
In August, researchers from Belgium's Ghent University said as many as 600,000 people had died in Tigray, either as a direct result of the fighting, or from related issues such as famine or the healthcare crisis sparked by the Ethiopian government's blockade in its northern region.
The international community has repeatedly called for peace talks amid a surge in violence after a ceasefire collapsed in August.
Rebels in Tigray said they would be willing to engage in AU-led peace talks after the US mounted pressure on Tigray authorities.
At least 50 people were killed in an air strike on the Tigray region this month, prompting the UN to issue an urgent call for a ceasefire.
The effect of air strikes on civilians was "utterly staggering", the UN's human rights chief warned last week, calling on parties to "cease all hostilities immediately".
Tigray and its six million people have been under a communications blackout for more than a year, with independent reporting from the region heavily curtailed.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed sent troops into Tigray in November 2020 promising a quick victory over the northern region's dissident leaders in the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF).
He said on Thursday the war "would end and peace will prevail".
