Abiy, Afwerki visit border together to celebrate Ethiopian new year with troops

Ethiopia’s prime minister, Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea’s president, Isaias Afwerki made a joint visit to celebrate the Ethiopian New Year on Tuesday with their troops on the border, in a further step toward warmer ties between two countries that fought a war two decades ago.

Abiy and Afwerki made the visit at Bure, a region that saw some of the fiercest fighting during the 1998-2000 war, in which 80,000 people died.

“PM Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki are visiting Bure Front along Ethio-Eritrea border to celebrate the New Year with members of the Ethiopian & Eritrean Defense Forces following the full normalization of the relations between the two countries. #Ethiopia #Eritrea,” Fitsum Arega, Abiy’s Chief of Staff, said on Twitter.

PM Abiy Ahmed and President Isaias Afwerki are visiting Bure Front along Ethio-Eritrea border to celebrate the New Year with members of the Ethiopian & Eritrean Defense Forces following the full normalization of the relations between the two countries. #Ethiopia #Eritrea pic.twitter.com/Z9C4QkNsPM

— Fitsum Arega (@fitsumaregaa) 11 septembre 2018

Abiy had earlier said in his New Year’s speech on Monday evening that the country’s soldiers would celebrate the occasion with the Eritrean troops, as the two countries continue to strengthen the normalisation of relations and peace pact that ended a two decade war over a border dispute.