UN chief calls on Eritrea, Ethiopia to respect border pact on its 25th anniversary

The Algiers Agreement, signed 25 years ago, ended a bloody border conflict between the two countries in the Horn of Africa. But more recently, tensions have been rising again.

It has been 25 years since the Algiers Agreement. This landmark treaty helped end the border conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea that lasted from 1998 to 2000. Between 70 000 and 80 000 people died during the war on both sides. Eritrea had seceded from Ethiopia just a few years earlier.

On Friday, the day of the anniversary of the treaty, UN chief Antonio Guterres said that both countries should recommit to the peace treaty to prevent renewed conflict.

Their relations improved greatly until 2018, when Eritrea's president even went on an official visit to Ethiopia for a bilateral summit, his first time in the country in 22 years. That same year, the two nations also fully accepted the peace deal But more recently, tensions have been rising again in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia deployed troops to joint border areas earlier this year in March, and at the same time, Eritrea called for young people to sign up for the armed forces.

No official reasons were given for these military build-ups, but access to Red Sea, which Ethiopia could only get through Eritrea, remains a background reason for potential tensions.