Ethiopia's government and rebel group the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) both said on Wednesday that they have accepted the African Union's invitation to participate in peace talks in South Africa on October 8 aimed at ending their two-year conflict.

The talks, slated for this weekend in South Africa, will be the first formal negotiations between the two sides since the conflict broke out in November 2020, two diplomatic sources said.

The Ethiopian government "has accepted this invitation which is in line with our principled position regarding the peaceful resolution of the conflict and the need to have talks without preconditions," Redwan Hussein, the national security adviser to Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said on Twitter.

Meanwhile, the TPLF said in a statement that they had accepted the invitation and asked for clarification on invited participants, observers and guarantors.

The conflict has killed thousands of civilians and uprooted millions. 

Both sides had previously said they were prepared to participate in AU-mediated talks but conflict resumed in late August, in which the Ethiopian government accused the rebel group of resuming fighting, saying the move by the rebel TPLF demonstrates its stance against any potential peace process.

The TPLF, on the other hand, accused the federal government of starting the attack on its forces, an accusation rejected by the government, who described the accusation as a pretext by the rebel group "to continue its warmongering behavior."

Chairperson of the AU Commission Moussa Faki Mahamat had previously expressed his deep concern over the renewed military confrontation in northern Ethiopia and urged de-escalation.

"The chairperson strongly calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities and urges the parties to resume talks to seek a peaceful solution," an AU statement read.

Faki reiterated the African Union's continued commitment to working with the parties in support of a consensual political process in the interest of the country, the statement said.

(With input from Xinhua and Reuters)