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Ethiopia-Eritrea border tensions despite resettlement

[Ethiopia] Bullet marked school on the border, of Ethiopia and Eritrea. IRIN/Anthony Mitchell
    NAIROBI

    The continuing impasse over the border demarcation between Eritrea and Ethiopia presents an ongoing risk of an escalation that could have serious political and humanitarian consequences.



    The Algiers Peace Agreement and the decision of the Ethiopia-Eritrea Border Commission led to the return of displaced civilians to their home areas and resettlement villages, but the possibility of renewed displacement remains given ongoing tension, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre of the Norwegian Refugee Council said in a 16 February report.



    Various UN sources reported that by mid-2008, all internally displaced persons in Eritrea had either returned home or been resettled, but concerns remain over social infrastructure and services.



    The conflict between the two states, which has yet to be resolved, intensified between 1993 and 2000. Massive displacement was witnessed in May 1998 when fighting broke out over the town of Badme in Gash Barka region. Out of a population of 3.8 million, more than a million people were uprooted from their homes and many civilians killed.



    eo/mw

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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