Image copyright AFP Image caption Ethiopia had refused to remove its troops from the region around Badme, the dusty market town at the centre of the dispute

Ethiopia's governing coalition has announced it will fully accept and implement the peace deal that ended its border war with Eritrea.

It says it will accept the outcome of a 2002 border commission ruling, which awarded disputed territories, including the town of Badme, to Eritrea.

This will end a dispute with Eritrea that sparked Africa's deadliest border war in 1998.

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

The two sides have remained on a war footing as Ethiopia had, until now, refused to accept the ruling of the border commission, which was set up as part of a peace deal.

As a result, Ethiopia had refused to withdraw its troops out of the disputed areas - leading Eritrea to accuse Ethiopia of forcefully occupying its territory.

"The Eritrean government should take the same stand without any prerequisite and accept our call to bring back the long-lost peace of the two brother nations as it was before," the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) wrote on Facebook.

Eritrea had refused to hold any talks with Ethiopia until it agreed unconditionally to the border commission's findings.

Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed had promised to make peace with the country's northern neighbour after taking power earlier this year.

BBC World Service Africa editor Will Ross says if Ethiopia does now remove soldiers from the disputed land, it would show it is serious about seeking peace.

Timeline

24 May 1993 : Eritrean independence from Ethiopia officially declared

: Eritrean independence from Ethiopia officially declared 6 May 1998 : Border war begins

: Border war begins 18 June 2000 : Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities signed

: Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities signed 12 December 2000 : Algiers Peace Agreement signed

: Algiers Peace Agreement signed 13 April 2002: The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission delivered its "final and binding" ruling

Read more: </s> Ethiopia on Tuesday decided to fully implement the so-called Algiers agreement and the decisions of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission.

This decision was made by the executive committee of the ruling party -- the Ethiopian Peoples' Revolutionary Democratic Front, according to the FANA broadcasting service, a government-affiliated media house.

The Algiers agreement was signed on Dec. 12, 2000 following the 1998-2000 war between the two countries.

As part of the deal, the international Boundary Commission had decided to give a chunk of the territory called Badme to Eritrea.

The executive committee called on Eritrea to implement the agreement without any precondition to reinstate good neighborly ties and peace between the peoples of the two countries, FANA said.

After fighting the bloody war, the two countries maintained what political experts dub as “a no-war, no-peace situation”.

According to the Algiers agreement, Eritrea would compensate Ethiopia for a huge amount of shipments it confiscated after the liberation of Eritrea at the Ports of Asab and Massawa, which had served as the sole sea outlets of Ethiopia back then. </s> ADDIS ABABA, July 8 — Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed was warmly greeted by Eritrea’s President Isaias Afwerki in the capital Asmara on Sunday at the start of a meeting to repair relations between the neighbours.

Eritrean state television showed footage of the two men embracing while Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted photographs saying, “The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people.”

In a scene unimaginable just weeks ago, Abiy stepped from an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the airport in Asmara, greeting Isaias and hugging him before the pair strode off along a red carpet.

They made no comment before heading to a meeting.

“The visit is part of efforts to normalise relations with Eritrea. [Abiy] is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership [about] how to mend fences,” Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP.

The historic meeting came after Abiy’s announcement last month that Ethiopia would cede to Eritrea land along the countries’ border it occupies in violation of a 2002 United Nations-backed boundary demarcation.

Ethiopia’s refusal to implement the demarcation deadlocked relations between the two even after the end of a 1998-2000 boundary war that killed 80,000 people.

Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a bloody independence struggle.

The break rendered Ethiopia landlocked, and ties deteriorated five years later when a dispute over their shared frontier descended into war.

In office since April, Abiy has pursued an ambitious reform agenda including reversing years of policy and announcing Ethiopia would abide by the 2002 boundary ruling.

The move paved the way for two top Eritrean officials to visit Addis Ababa last month, after which the meeting between the two leaders was announced.

But Ethiopia has yet to withdraw from disputed territory along the border including the town of Badme, which it controls in violation of the UN ruling. — AFP </s> Ethiopia says it will fully accept the outcome of a border commission, ending a dispute with Eritrea that sparked Africa's deadliest border war in 1998.

The ruling EPRDF coalition says the decision was taken in an effort to make peace with neighbouring Eritrea.

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

The two sides have remained on a war footing as Ethiopia refused to accept the ruling of the border commission set up as part of a peace deal in 2000.

The commission said that some disputed areas, including the border town of Badme, were in Eritrea.

As a result, Ethiopia refused to withdrawn its troops out of the disputed areas.

This led Eritrea to accuse Ethiopia of forcefully occupying its territory.

Eritrea has refused to hold any talks with Ethiopia until it agrees unconditionally to the border commission's findings.

Ethiopia's new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to make peace with the country's northern neighbour after taking power earlier this year.

BBC World Service Africa editor Will Ross says if Ethiopia does now remove soldiers from the disputed land it would show it is serious about seeking peace.
• 13 April 2002: The Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission delivered its "final and binding" ruling
• Brothers at war in the Horn of Africa </s> ADDIS ABABA: Cheering crowds lined the streets of the Eritrean capital Asmara on Sunday as Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived for historic talks with President Isaias Afwerki aimed at repairing relations between the neighbours.

The Horn of Africa nations have remained at loggerheads since Ethiopia rejected a United Nations ruling and refused to cede to Eritrea land along the countries’ border following a 1998-2000 war that killed 80,000 people.

There was no sign of that animosity on Sunday as Abiy stepped from an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the airport in Asmara to be greeted by Isaias before the pair strode off along a red carpet.

Eritrean state television showed footage of the two men embracing while Abiy’s chief of staff, Fitsum Arega said on Twitter, “The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people.”

Crowds waving both nations’ flags were shown thronging the streets of Asmara as a convoy carrying the two leaders passed.

“The visit is part of efforts to normalise relations with Eritrea. (Abiy) is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership (about) how to mend fences,” Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP.

Eritrea’s information minister Yemane Gebremeskel later tweeted a photo of the two leaders huddled in discussion, adding their meeting will, “set the tone for rapid, positive changes on the basis of respect of sovereignty and territorial integrity.”

The discussions appeared to have already born fruit late Sunday, with Fitsum announcing that international telephone services between the two countries had been restored.

The historic visit came after Abiy’s move last month to abide by the 2002 decision from the UN-backed commission aimed at settling Ethiopia and Eritrea’s border dispute, which fuelled the two-year war.

The UN decision awards chunks of land along the border, including the flashpoint town of Badme, to Eritrea.

Ethiopia had rejected the ruling and continues to occupy the town, sparking a heated rivalry between the two countries that has over the years erupted in gunfire.

Both nations have supported rebel groups intent on overthrowing the other’s government and periodically engaged in direct deadly skirmishes along the border.

Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a decades-long and bloody independence struggle.

The break rendered Ethiopia landlocked, and the deterioration of relations due to the continuing cold war forced Ethiopia to rely on Djibouti for its sea trade.

Eritrea has used the threat of renewed Ethiopian aggression to justify repressive policies including an indefinite national service programme the UN has likened to slavery. </s> Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted photographs of Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki in the capital Asmara. Photo: Twitter / @fitsumregaa

ADDIS ABABA - Ethiopia's prime minister Abiy Ahmed was warmly greeted by Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki in the capital Asmara on Sunday at the start of a meeting to repair relations between the neighbours.

Eritrean state television showed footage of the two men embracing while Abiy's chief of staff, Fitsum Arega, tweeted photographs saying, "The visit offers a spectacular opportunity to decidedly move forward peace for the good of our people."

In a scene unimaginable just weeks ago, Abiy stepped from an Ethiopian Airlines plane at the airport in Asmara, greeting Isaias and hugging him before the pair strode off along a red carpet.

They made no comment before heading to a meeting.

"The visit is part of efforts to normalise relations with Eritrea. [Abiy] is expected to talk with the Eritrean leadership [about] how to mend fences," Ethiopian foreign ministry spokesman Meles Alem told AFP.

The historic meeting came after Abiy's announcement last month that Ethiopia would cede to Eritrea land along the countries' border it occupies in violation of a 2002 United Nations-backed boundary demarcation.

Ethiopia's refusal to implement the demarcation deadlocked relations between the two even after the end of a 1998-2000 boundary war that killed 80,000 people.

Once a province of Ethiopia that comprised its entire coastline, Eritrea voted to leave in 1993 after a bloody independence struggle.

The break rendered Ethiopia landlocked, and ties deteriorated five years later when a dispute over their shared frontier descended into war.

In office since April, Abiy has pursued an ambitious reform agenda including reversing years of policy and announcing Ethiopia would abide by the 2002 boundary ruling.

The move paved the way for two top Eritrean officials to visit Addis Ababa last month, after which the meeting between the two leaders was announced.

But Ethiopia has yet to withdraw from disputed territory along the border including the town of Badme, which it controls in violation of the UN ruling. </s> ADDIS ABABA, June 5 (Reuters) - Ethiopia will "fully accept and implement" a peace agreement with Eritrea that was signed in 2000, its ruling coalition announced on Tuesday.

The Horn of Africa neighbours have remained at odds since a 1998-2000 war over a disputed town that a boundary commission subsequently handed to Asmara but which Addis Ababa rejected.

Asmara has long felt betrayed by world powers, who they say failed to force Ethiopia, now with a population of 97 million, to abide by the boundary arbitration ruling. Ethiopia long said it wanted talks on implementation, which Asmara refused. </s> Ethiopia announced Tuesday that it would accept a 2000 peace agreement with Eritrea over their disputed border, potentially a major step toward resolving one of post-colonial Africa’s bloodiest and most protracted conflicts.

A statement by the governing party of Ethiopia, the second-most populous country in Africa, said it would “fully accept and implement” the agreement with Eritrea, a former province of Ethiopia, which was signed but never honored.

“The Eritrean government should take the same stand without any prerequisite and accept our call to bring back the long-lost peace of the two brother nations as it was before,” the governing party, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front, said in the statement.

The countries fought a war from 1998 to 2000 over their border dispute, which left about 80,000 people dead. They signed a peace agreement in 2000, but the Ethiopians never accepted the findings of a boundary commission established by the agreement. </s> ADDIS ABABA : Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed arrived in the Eritrean capital Asmara on Sunday, the first visit by an Ethiopian leader to Eritrea in 20 years.

The visit comes after the two countries started tentative steps to end a two decades old bitter border dispute that led to a bloody two-year war from 1998-2000, that left an estimated 70,000 people dead from both sides.

Ahmed was greeted at the Asmara International Airport by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki and is expected to hold discussions on efforts to bring lasting peace between the two nations. In a press statement, earlier on Sunday, Fitsum Arega, Chief of Staff of the Office of Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, said discussions will be held with the Eritrean president on ways to revive the common history and bond between the two nations interrupted by two decades of mistrust. Earlier this month Ethiopia received a high-level Eritrean delegation led by Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Salah, the first high level Eritrean delegation to visit Ethiopia in 20 years.

The Eritrean delegation came to Ethiopia after Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki declared that his country would send a team to Ethiopia to assess a recent Ethiopia peace offer.

On June 5, the Executive Committee of the ruling party, the Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) passed decision expressing Ethiopia's commitment to an unconditional implementation of Algiers peace agreement with Eritrea.

The peace agreement ended the two-year border war, but a tense armed standoff continued, with the two countries engaging in skirmishes occasionally.

Ethiopia until this month had declined to endorse the results of the peace agreement fully, including the symbolically important town of Badme which Ethiopia currently controls but which was awarded to Eritrea.

Eritrea for its part had until recently insisted the border demarcation must be done first before any talks on normalizing ties.
Ethiopia agrees to "fully accept" the outcome of the Algiers Agreement of 2000, which ruled that disputed areas, including the border town of Badme which Ethiopia currently occupies, are Eritrean territory.