ADDIS ABABA - The Ethiopians government said on Thursday that peace talks on the nearly two-year-old war in Tigray would start in South Africa next week...A spokesperson for the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) was not immediately available for comment.

The government and TPLF leaders had agreed to join talks this month that would to be mediated by AU envoy Olusegun Obasanjo, South Africa's former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and former Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta.

But the meeting in SA never took place, with logistical problems blamed. Fighting meanwhile has spiralled. The government this week vowed to seize airports and other federal sites from rebel control as part of "defensive measures".

WHO Head Warns Urgent Action Needed to Prevent Tigray ‘Genocide’

"The world is not paying enough attention. There is a very narrow window now to prevent genocide in Tigray," he said. Tedros, who is from the northern region, has continued to point out the abuses committed there.

Caught in the crossfire since the conflict began in November 2020, civilians in Tigray have paid the price, deliberately targeted and blocked off from essential services, said Tedros. Fighting between pro-government forces and rebels continues after a truce collapsed in August.

The ongoing crisis has created a siege for the six million people of the region, he said. "Banking, food, electricity and healthcare are being used as weapons of war," he said.