First flight in twenty years between Ethiopia and Eritrea

The first commercial flight in 20 years between Ethiopia and Eritrea took off Wednesday from Addis Ababa, sealing the reconciliation between these ancient enemies of the Horn of Africa

Eritrea, formerly a province of Ethiopia, declared its independence in 1993 after three decades of war. It was followed by a territorial dispute over the delimitation of the border that led to a new war that caused about 80,000 deaths between 1998 and 2000. Then comes a period of hostilities that has just come to an end .

Ethiopian Airlines stated on its website that Flight ET0312 to Asmara took off from Bole International Airport in Addis Ababa after a ceremony described by the company's CEO, Tewolde GebreMariam, as "an event unique in the history of Ethiopia and Eritrea ".

The strong demand, the African airline giant added that another plane took off from Addis Ababa to Eritrea 15 minutes later

"The fact that we have two flights at a time shows the enthusiasm of the people ". GebreMariam

An AFP journalist travels aboard one of the planes, where champagne was served to the pbadengers and roses were distributed.

In June, the new Ethiopian Prime Minister, Reformer Abiy Ahmed, surprised by stating that he was accepting a 2002 initiative to end the border conflict.

Two weeks ago, he visited Asmara, where he signed with Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki, a statement that officially ends 20 years of state of war.

President Afeworki made his visit last weekend to the Embbady of Eritrea in Addis Ababa