South Sudan's warring parties have opened negotiations in Addis Ababa to strike a ceasefire deal and end nearly three weeks of conflict, Ethiopia's foreign ministry says, although face-to-face talks are yet to begin.
"Negotiation started," the ministry said in a statement, adding that the regional eight-country East African bloc IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, "was committed to support in any way possible".
The two sides are meeting with envoys from regional nations, with sources suggesting the rivals may not meet directly until at least Saturday.
Government and rebel negotiating teams had begun arriving on Wednesday at a luxury hotel in Ethiopia's capital, but the start of talks had been delayed until the full teams arrived.
Thousands of people are feared to have been killed in the fighting, which pits army units loyal to President Salva Kiir against a loose alliance of ethnic militia forces and mutinous army commanders nominally headed by former vice-president Riek Machar.
Aid workers have increased warnings of a worsening crisis for civilians affected by the conflict, which some observers have warned risks deteriorating into full-blown civil war.
Fighting erupted on December 15 when Kiir accused Machar of attempting a coup in the world's newest nation.
