ADDIS ABABA, July 16, 2018 (News Wires) - Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki reopened his country's embassy in Ethiopia on Monday, more than 20 years after the two countries broke off relations when they went to war. The embassy inauguration caps Isaias's historic visit to the Ethiopian capital aimed at cementing peace less than a week after Ethiopia and Eritrea declared an end to two decades of conflict. State-run Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) showed Isaias raising the Eritrean flag at the embassy in downtown Addis Ababa and accepting from Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed keys to the building, filled with dusty furniture that appeared untouched for years. The embassy visit marked the end of the Eritrean leader's three-day stay in Ethiopia that also included a visit to an industrial park and a Sunday evening dinner and concert attended by thousands of Ethiopians. "The high-level Eritrean government delegation headed by President Isaias just left Addis Ababa for Asmara," EBC reported after Isaias departed the embassy. Ethiopia and Eritrea expelled each others' envoys at the start of a 1998-2000 border war that killed around 80,000 people. Last month, Abiy announced Ethiopia would accept the demarcation and cede land to Eritrea, paving the way for normalisation.
