Top commanders of warring factions in the Tigray conflict will meet within the next five days to deliberate on the implementation of the peace agreement signed last week.
In a statement on Monday, the African Union said the meeting will discuss modalities of the disarmament exercise dubbed silencing the guns.
"The meeting should also provide a roadmap for immediate humanitarian access and restoration of services in the Tigray region," the statement read.
It was released after a Senior Commanders meeting on the implementation of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement between the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) in Nairobi.
The AU said a hotline has since been established to facilitate communication between commanders of both sides.
The signing of the Permanent Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) now shines a glimmer of hope that the Tigray armed conflict which began on November 3, 2020, will come to an end.
The war was being fought by the Ethiopian federal government and Eritrea on one side and the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) on the other.
It is a fight over who gets to dominate the commanding heights of the country's economy, a prize that Tigray's regional leaders once held.
Kenya played host to the Commanders' meeting in Nairobi with former President Uhuru Kenyatta and AU High Representative in the Horn of Africa, former Nigerian President Olesegun Obasanjo in attendance.
Former South African Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngucka who is also a member of the AU Panel of the Wise was also present.
"After this process, all will join in our struggle to make Africa a better place and to end and silence the guns permanently so that we can focus on the well-being of our people,” Uhuru said.
The AU Commission commended Kenya for playing host to the meeting saying it demonstrated commitment to AU's agenda of silencing the guns in Africa.
"The African Union Commission commends the parties on these key confidence-building measures and their continued commitment to the Implementation of Cessation of Hostilities Agreement," the AU said in the statement released by Kenya's Foreign Affairs ministry.
