Abiy Ahmed promised a fresh start after years of iron-fisted rule in Ethiopia, where he became prime minister in 2018 following anti-government street protests in Africa's second-most populous nation.

Voters in Ethiopia cast ballots Monday in a delayed national election taking place against the backdrop of war and famine in the northern Tigray region and questions over the poll's credibility.

Ethiopia is preparing to hold crucial and twice-delayed elections across the country on June 21, despite growing concern over the credibility of the vote as well as a famine in war-torn Tigray.

The latest bout of ethnic violence in Ethiopia's Amhara region has left scores dead and displaced hundreds of thousands, a federal official told AFP Friday.

Sudan's prime minister has invited his Egyptian and Ethiopian counterparts to a closed meeting to discuss the long-running dispute over Addis Ababa's mega-dam on the Blue Nile, his office said. 

Clashes involving Ethiopia's two largest ethnic groups killed more than 300 people over several days last month, a federal official told AFP Friday, the latest sign of instability ahead of elections expected in June. 

Eritrea will pull its troops out of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said Friday, in a potential breakthrough towards ending a drawn-out conflict that has seen atrocities carried out against civilians.

United Nations human rights chief Michelle Bachelet has agreed to Ethiopia's request for a joint investigation into the humanitarian consequences of the conflict in the country's northern Tigray region, a UN spokesman said Wednesday.

The UN says it has received "disturbing" reports of sexual violence and abuse in Ethiopia's conflict-hit Tigray region, including of individuals forced to rape members of their own family.

The Ethiopian army says it has killed four senior members of the Tigray region's ruling party targeted in a military offensive, state-affiliated media reported late Thursday.