Ethiopia-Eritrea summit aims to end feud

New Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed (left) is meeting veteran Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki pic: REUTERS[/caption]

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed has begun a visit to Eritrea, days after the two countries agreed to end a two decade-old border dispute.

He was welcomed in the Eritrean capital Asmara by President Isaias Afewerki. The trip follows a visit to Addis Ababa by an Eritrean delegation. Mr Abiy, who took office in April, has accepted a ruling awarding disputed territory to Eritrea. Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a lengthy conflict. But within five years the neighbours were fighting over remote border areas, including the town of Badme.

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Tens of thousands of people were killed in two years of fighting.

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The land was awarded to Eritrea by a 2002 border commission ruling, but Ethiopia refused to accept it and retained its troops there. The two sides have remained on a war footing since then.

Timeline

• 24 May 1993: Eritrean independence from Ethiopia officially declared
• 6 May 1998: Border war begins
• 18 June 2000: Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities signed
• 12 December 2000: Algiers Peace Agreement signed
• 13 April 2002: The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission delivered its “binding” ruling

Source: BBC]]>