Peace talks between the Ethiopian government and Oromo Liberation Army (OLA) have begun on the Tanzanian island of Zanzibar, a rebel commander has confirmed to the BBC.
This is the first time the Ethiopian government is formally negotiating with OLA after years of conflict.
No details have been shared so far about the format of the negotiations or who will be mediating between the two parties.
The US, Norway, Sweden and Kenya are said to have been pushing the two sides to peacefully end the hostilities in the country’s vast Oromia region where the majority of residents are Oromos, Ethiopia’s largest ethnic group.
The OLA has been fighting government forces since it split from a former rebel movement in 2018.
The talks come about six months after Ethiopia’s government reached a peace deal to end a bloody two-year war in the northern region of Tigray.