Peace deal signed

Ethiopia and Eritrea on Sunday signed a peace agreement, raising hopes that the two year-old border dispute may be at an end. The 15-point plan, brokered by the OAU in Algiers, provides for an immediate cessation of hostilities, the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in a buffer zone extending 26 km into Eritrea, and the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from areas occupied inside Eritrea since 6 February 1999. Demarcation of the border will follow later. The accord was signed by the foreign ministers of the two countries.

Eritrean Foreign Minister Haile Woldetensae said the agreement was the “first step, but not the end of the process”, Eritrean radio reported. He said the road to sustainable peace would be full of obstacles and complications, but stressed his government’s commitment to the agreement. His comments were echoed by his Ethiopian counterpart, Seyoum Mesfin. Quoted by Tigray radio in Mekele, Seyoum however said the agreement had created a “conducive environment for the next round of talks”, and described it as a “political victory” for Ethiopia.