Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA WAR
Despite being friends and having fought against the Derg side by side for more than a dec-
ade, Meles Zenawi and Eritrea's president, Isaias Afewerki, soon clashed. The cause? Erit-
rea's introduction of the nakfa currency to replace the Ethiopian birr in November 1997.
In early May 1998 a number of Eritrean officials were killed
near the border. On 12 May Eritrea upped the stakes by occupy-
ing the border town of Badme. Over the next month there was
intense fighting between the two sides. In early June the
Ethiopians launched air raids on the airport in Asmara to which
the Eritreans retaliated by bombing Mekele airport. In both
cases civilians were killed.
In February 1999 a full-scale military conflict broke out that
left tens of thousands dead on both sides before it finally ceased
for good in mid-2000. During this time there were mass export-
ations of Eritreans from Ethiopia and Ethiopians from Eritrea.
Although Ethiopia had agreed to peace earlier, it wasn't until
Ethiopia recaptured all territory and went on to occupy parts of
central and western Eritrea that Eritrea finally agreed to a cease-
fire.
In December 2000 a formal peace settlement was signed in
Algiers. In April 2001 a 25km-wide demilitarised strip, which
ran the length of the internationally recognised border on the
Eritrean side, was set up under supervision of the UN Mission
in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
In late 2005 a commission at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled that
Eritrea broke international law when it attacked Ethiopia in 1998 and triggered the war.
Since the guns fell silent there have been periods of extreme tension between the two na-
tions that have seen forces massed on both sides of the border, and today the two armies
continue to eye each other suspiciously over the desert.
Best Historical
Museums
»Ethnological Museum, Addis
Ababa (
Click here
)
»National Museum, Addis
Ababa (
Click here
)
»Archaeological Museum, Ak-
sum (
Click here
)
»St George Cathedral & Mu-
seum, Addis Ababa (
Click
»'Red Terror' Martyrs Me-
morial Museum, Addis Ababa
(
Click here
)
»Sherif Harar City Museum,
Harar (
Click here
)
»Wolega Museum, Nekemte (
