Delegations to African Union-mediated peace talks on the war in Ethiopia’s Tigray region meet in South Africa today despite a renewed offensive that saw federal forces re-take a few towns from Tigrayan forces.

The Ethiopian government put out a statement saying it viewed the talks as “an opportunity to peacefully resolve the conflict.”

For their part, the leadership of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, or the TPLF, also confirmed their attendance, with a member of the central committee, Kindeya Gebrehiwot, tweeting that the delegation had arrived in South Africa Sunday.

The Tigray delegation is being led by one of the region’s top generals, Tsadkan Gebretensae, spokesman Getachew Reda, an official familiar with the talks told Reuters.

The Tigrayans arrived on a U.S. military aircraft, accompanied by the U.S. special envoy to the Horn of Africa, Mike Hammer, the official told Reuters.

Officials from host country South Africa were remaining mum on the much-anticipated negotiations, and their exact location is unclear. It is also unclear whether media will be addressed at their conclusion, or a statement released.

Clayson Monyela, a spokesman for South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation, told VOA the department had no authority to speak on the talks and referred any questions to the African Union (AU), which is organizing them. A spokesperson for the AU could not immediately be reached.

The talks come as fighting on the ground intensified, with the Ethiopian government saying they had “continued taking control of major urban centers in the past few days.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned last week that the situation was “spiraling out of control,” while World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, himself a Tigrayan, warned of the possibility of genocide.

Thousands of people have been killed and millions displaced since the conflict broke out in late 2020.

The US has expressed hope that the peace talks in South Africa will lead to a cessation of hostilities. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday he had spoken to South African counterpart Naledi Pandor “on how to make the peace talks successful.”

From the Vatican over the weekend, Pope Francis tweeted: “I follow the persistent situation of conflict in Ethiopia with trepidation. May the efforts of the parties for dialogue lead to a genuine path of reconciliation.” Ethiopian and Eritrean forces took control of the historic town of Adwa in the embattled Tigray region, a humanitarian worker said Sunday, ahead of the start of anticipated peace talks between the warring parties.

Ethiopian and Eritrean military units captured Adwa Saturday as Tigray forces retreated from the town after suffering “major losses,” the aid worker told The Associated Press. An airstrike hit Adwa Friday, causing an unspecified number of civilian casualties, according to the worker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of safety concerns.

Losing Adwa is the latest setback for Tigray’s fugitive leaders, who have lost control of a string of towns in recent days. Ethiopia’s federal government said Tuesday it had captured the major town of Shire, home to a camp for internally displaced people, and vowed to take control of Tigray’s airports.

Eritrean troops are fighting on the side of Ethiopia’s federal army in the Tigray conflict.

South Africa is set to host peace talks, convened by the African Union, that one Ethiopian government official had said would begin Oct. 24. But the African Union itself has not released details about plans for the talks, if and when they start.

s. That’s why I am standing to be Leader of the Conservative Party and your next Prime Minister. I want to fix our economy, unite our Party and deliver for our country.

“There will be integrity, professionalism and accountability at every level of the government I lead and I will work day in and day out to get the job done.”

Many of Johnson’s supporters have blamed Sunak for helping to oust Johnson from power in July in the wake of a series of scandals, but on Sunday evening he paid tribute to the former PM after he pulled out of the race.

“Boris Johnson delivered Brexit and the great vaccine roll-out. He led our country through some of the toughest challenges we have ever faced, and then took on Putin and his barbaric war in Ukraine. We will always be grateful to him for that,” Sunak tweeted. “Although he has decided not to run for PM again, I truly hope he continues to contribute to public life at home and abroad.”

In his statement announcing his withdrawal from the race, Johnson claimed to have secured the nominations of 102 MPs, even though the number of lawmakers who had publicly announced their support for him was much lower. And he took a swipe at Sunak and Truss after failing to convince them to support his comeback.

“There is a very good chance that I would be successful in the election with Conservative Party members – and that I could indeed be back in Downing Street on Friday,” Johnson said. “But in the course of the last days I have sadly come to the conclusion that this would simply not be the right thing to do. You can’t govern effectively unless you have a united party in parliament.”

“And though I have reached out to both Rishi (Sunak) and Penny (Mordaunt) – because I hoped that we could come together in the national interest – we have sadly not been able to work out a way of doing this,” he added. “Therefore I am afraid the best thing is that I do not allow my nomination to go forward and commit my support to whoever succeeds. I believe I have much to offer but I am afraid that this is simply not the right time.”

Mordaunt was the first to declare her candidacy on Friday. She promised a “fresh start” for the UK, aiming “to unite our country, deliver our pledges and win the next general election.” She is also running under a catchy hashtag: “PM4PM.”

She too praised Johnson for his decision to withdraw from the contest, saying the former PM “put country before party, and party before self.”

“He worked to secure the mandate and the majority we now enjoy. We should put it to good use, and I know he will work with us to do so,” she said on Twitter.