ADDIS ABABA, July 19, 2018 (Reuters) - Eritrea has pulled troops back from the heavily militarised border with Ethiopia as a "gesture of reconciliation", the pro-government Eritrean Press agency said on its Facebook page. There was no immediate confirmation from the government in Asmara but the move would be consistent with rapidly improving ties between the two neighbors in the Horn of Africa who fought a war in 1998 in which tens of thousands died. A military stalement has persisted since then. Ethiopia's Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki signed an agreement in Asmara on July 9 to restore ties and have since taken steps to put that into practice including reopening embassies in each others countries.
