Ethiopia, Eritrea to sign formal peace accord Tuesday

ALGIERS, Algeria (Reuters) -- Ethiopia and Eritrea are to sign a comprehensive peace agreement in Algiers on Tuesday formally ending a brutal two-year border war that cost tens of thousands of lives in the impoverished Horn of Africa.

Border skirmishes between Eritrea, on the Red Sea coast, and Ethiopia, its much larger landlocked neighbor to the south, escalated into full-scale war in mid-1998.

Tens of thousands of soldiers were killed in sporadic fighting during the conflict and tens of thousands of others were taken prisoner or displaced from their homes before an internationally brokered ceasefire took effect in June.

Eritrea, a country of three million people, was an Italian colony until World War Two. It then became a province of Ethiopia, which has a population of 60 million, before winning its independence by referendum with Ethiopian support in 1993.

MESSAGE BOARD Horn of Africa

The two nations, often plagued by prolonged famine and drought, are among the world's poorest countries.

Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, current chairman of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), was the main mediator between the two sides when the ceasefire deal was reached and he offered to host the formal signature of the peace pact.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin were expected to attend the signing ceremony in the Algerian capital, while Eritrea was to be represented by President Isayas Afewerki.

U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, and the U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright were also expected attend.

Annan said last week a 4,200-strong U.N. peacekeeping force, which has started to take up positions along the disputed border, would work with both sides to build confidence.

The United Nations hopes to complete the deployment of the U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), with military personnel from 27 countries, by early next year.

The Ethiopian parliament last Friday endorsed the six-article agreement, which commits both sides to a permanent end to military activities along their 1,000-km (600-mile) border.

"Each party shall refrain from the threat or use of force against the other," the agreement says.

The text calls for the establishment of a neutral, five-member commission based in Geneva with a mandate to delimit and demarcate the border based on colonial treaties.

The commission should aim to complete its work within three years and "each party shall respect the border so determined, as well as territorial integrity and sovereignty of the other party," the text says.

Another commission will be established to address the impact of the conflict on the civilian population including the thousands deported from each country.

Another independent body, appointed by the Secretary General of the OAU, will investigate the origins of the conflict.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
Government of Eritrea
Eritrean Network Information Center
Organization of African Unity (OAU)

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