Tigrayan rebels said on Wednesday they have begun handing in their heavy weapons, a key part of a deal signed more than two months ago to end a deadly conflict in northern Ethiopia.

The terms of the November 2 peace agreement include disarming rebel forces, restoring federal authority in Tigray and reopening access and communications to the region, which has been cut off from the outside world since mid-2021.

Fighting broke out in November 2020 when Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed deployed the army in a bid to topple Tigrayan leaders who had been challenging his authority for months and whom he accused of attacking federal military bases.

"Tigray has handed over its heavy weapons as part of its commitment to implementing the #Pretoria agreement," Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) spokesman Getachew Reda tweeted on Wednesday, referring to the November 2 deal signed in the South African capital.

"We hope & expect this will go a long way in expediting the full implementation of the agreement. We hope & expect!"

Ahead of the announcement, Foreign Minister Qin Gang – who was visiting the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa – said on Tuesday that Ethiopia has now entered a new stage of looking forward to peace and focusing on development after the recent signing of a ceasefire agreement.

China is sincerely glad to see this and extends warm congratulations to the government and people of Ethiopia, Qin said.

He added China has always taken the view that the conflict in Tigray is an internal affair of Ethiopia and that the Ethiopian people have the wisdom and ability to independently resolve their internal differences. (AFP/Xinhua)