In this May 8, 2021 file photo, Ethiopian government soldiers ride in the back of a truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekele, in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. (BEN CURTIS/AP)

The former rulers of Ethiopia's Tigray region said on Monday they were back in control of the regional capital Mekelle after nearly eight months of fighting, and the government which ousted them declared a unilateral ceasefire with immediate effect.

Residents in downtown Mekelle reported seeing rebel troops in the city for the first time since they were driven out by government forces in November, and several described scenes of jubilation in the streets.

The developments marked a dramatic turn in a conflict that has killed thousands of people, displaced more than 2 million and pushed hundreds of thousands to the brink of famine.

Ethiopia's government said it was declaring a ceasefire following a request from the interim regional administration in Tigray, which Addis Ababa appointed after ousting TPLF forces

They followed recent reports of an escalation in fighting between government troops and the Tigray's former governing party, the Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF), outside Mekelle.

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"The capital of Tigray, Mekelle, is under our control," Getachew Reda, a TPLF spokesperson, told Reuters by satellite phone on Monday night.

Ethiopia's government said it was declaring a ceasefire following a request from the interim regional administration in Tigray, which Addis Ababa appointed after ousting TPLF forces.

"This unilateral ceasefire declaration starts from today June 28, 2021 and will stay until the farming season ends," a statement released by the federal government late on Monday read. Ethiopia's main planting season lasts from May to September.

Reuters could not immediately establish whether the ceasefire was discussed with the TPLF.

"Until all our enemies leave Tigray, we will fight," Liya Kassa, another TPLF spokesperson, said in an audio statement posted late on Monday on the Facebook page of the party-affiliated Tigrai Media House.

Eritrea to the north and the neighboring region of Amhara to the south both sent troops into Tigray to support Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's government after it accused the TPLF of attacking military bases across the region in early November.

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The Ethiopian prime minister's spokesperson and the military's spokesperson did not respond to phone calls and messages seeking comment. The TPLF could not immediately be reached for comment on the ceasefire.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he had spoken with Abiy and was "hopeful that an effective cessation of hostilities will take place.

"It is essential that civilians are protected, humanitarian aid reach the people in need and a political solution is found," Guterres said in a statement.