The negotiations are expected to start on Monday after a recent surge in fighting in the north of Ethiopia triggered alarm in the international community.

“The delegation of the Govt of Tigray to attend the AU-led peace talks on #Ethiopia #Tigray have just arrived at South Africa. Pressing: immediate cessation of hostilities, unfettered humanitarian access & withdrawal of Eritrean forces. There can't be a military solution!” tweeted Kindeya Gebrehiwot, a spokesman for the rebel authorities in Tigray.

The Tigray War began on 3 November 2020 in the Tigray Region of Ethiopia.

The war is primarily being fought by the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side, and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other.

According to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium, as many as 600,000 people had died as a result of war-related violence and famine by late 2022. (ILKHA)