Religious leaders plan joint tour

Religious leaders from Ethiopia and Eritrea have agreed to hold peace meetings over a three day period in war-affected towns and villages in the two countries, the Eritrean pro-government Visafric website reported on 6 May. The leaders agreed at a three-day meeting in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, to visit war-affected populations around the disputed border region between 19 and 21 May, Visafric said.

“The healing process has to start now, the hostility and hatred that the war brought has to stop. We have to look into the future - a peaceful future,” the Reverend Zerit Johannes, the secretary of the Eritrean delegation, as quoted as saying.

Zerit said that the two groups had agreed to meet in the southern Eritrean town of Adi Keyih, and in Adigrat in northern Ethiopia, in an attempt to promote peace and reconciliation among local people.
Elders from both countries would be included in the meetings, and would be leading the peace efforts by speaking with war-torn communities, he said.