Sudan's new transitional government is meeting with rebel leaders to kick off peace talks aimed at ending the country's civil wars.

The talks started on Monday in Juba, the capital of neighboring South Sudan.

The government delegation, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamadan Dagalo, member of the sovereign council, arrived in Juba late Sunday.

The meeting is also attended by Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who arrived in Juba on Monday, South Sudan's President Salva Kiir and Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni.

This is PM Abiy's first involvement in a peace process since he won the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize last week for his peace efforts in Ethiopia and the Horn of African region. 

The Juba meeting comes after some rebel groups signed a draft agreement last month, detailing a roadmap for the talks, trust-building measures and an extension of a cease-fire already in place.

According to a summer power-sharing agreement between the generals and pro-democracy movement, the transitional authorities have six months to make peace with rebels.