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On Saturday, July 14, 2018, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki is greeted by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, second from right, on his first 22-year visit to Addis Ababa airport, Ethiopia. Celebrating their dramatic diplomatic thaw, the Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders of Tuesday, September 11, 2018 marked the Ethiopian New Year at a border where a bloody war and the ensuing tensions had divided them for decades. (Mulugeta Ayene, File / Associated Press)
ADDIS-ABABA, Ethiopia – Celebrating their dramatic diplomatic thaw, Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders officially opened the border on Tuesday, where a bloody war and the ensuing tensions had divided them for decades.
New Ethiopian reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and long-time Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited the Front Bure with members of their armed forces to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year, Fitsum Arega said.
The two men then opened the border post "for road connectivity" and would soon do the same at the Serha-Zalambesa crossing, Eritrean Minister of Information Yemane Meskel told Eritrea on Twitter.
Photos posted by the two officials show Abiy in camouflage and sunglasses walking beside Isaias in green tones, while civilians lined a road with the flags of the countries in hand.
The former bitter rivals have made a remarkable reconciliation since Abiy, a few weeks after taking office in April, announced that Ethiopia would adhere fully to a peace agreement ending the 1998-2000 border war that killed tens of thousands of people. At the time, he announced that the countries would celebrate together the Ethiopian New Year: "We want our brothers and sisters to come here and visit us as soon as possible".
Embassies have reopened, telephone lines have been re-established and commercial flights between capitals have resumed, with some long-separated families having organized reunions. Ethiopia, one of the most dynamic economies in Africa, and Eritrea, one of the most closed countries in the world, are also planning development cooperation, particularly around the Red Sea ports in Eritrea.
Social media reports on Monday said demining activities were underway in a border area, signaling that an opening was planned.
Abiy said Monday to a group of thousands of spectators in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, that today, Ethiopians and Eritreans would prosper together and march in unison. … The last five months have brought hope and reconciliation. "
The Ethiopian New Year has its roots in the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and is linked to the Julian calendar. Eritrea has used the Gregorian calendar since its independence from Ethiopia in 1993.
The reconciliation between Ethiopia and Eritrea has been warmly welcomed by the international community and has led to a series of new thaws in the fragile Horn of Africa region. Eritrea has resumed diplomatic relations with Djibouti.
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