World

Done Peace Deal For Ethiopia, Eritrea

By CBSNews.com staff CBSNews.com staff

December 4, 2000 / 8:31 AM EST / CBS

Ethiopia and Eritrea formally ended their two-year war on Tuesday, signing a peace agreement that halts a bloody conflict between two impoverished nations over a barren patch of land.

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki signed the accord in Algeria before a crowd of applauding diplomats, many of whom participated in the peace process.

The signing, held at a government-owned resort outside the Algerian capital of Algiers, was hosted by Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who mediated on behalf of the Organization of African Unity. It was attended by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan and U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, among dignitaries present.

The peace agreement establishes commissions to mark the 620-mile border, exchange prisoners, return displaced people and hear claims on compensation for war damages. Some 4,200 U.N. peacekeepers will monitor the cease-fire.

No timetable has been set for the peace process and demarcation of the border, but Annan has said he did not expect U.N. troops to be stationed in the Horn of Africa for more than a year.

Getting the two nations to sign an agreement took months of diplomatic pressure from the United States, the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity. While he lauded the peace agreement, Annan said a cessation of fighting is not enough and that the two nations learn to live with one another.

"It is not enough to silence the guns. As we embrace peace, build trust and work for reconciliation, we must remember that words can inflame or soothe," he said. "We need the best possible atmosphere for implementation of this agreement."

The fighting erupted on May 6, 1998, when Eritrea which won independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war invaded what Ethiopia considered its territory. The border between Eritrea, a nation of 3.5 million on the Red Sea coast, and Ethiopia, its much larger landlocked neighbor of 60 million, has never been formally outlined.

After a series of failed international mediations to stop the war, Ethiopia launched a swift offensive inside Eritrea in May and declared the war over, claiming it had recaptured its territory.

The two countries signed an agreement to a cease hostilities in June, in Algiers. Algeria, the OAU and President Clinton's special envoy, Anthony Lake, have been mediating peace talks.

Under the agreement, Ethiopia is supposed to move back from positions that were not under its administration before the war broke out. Eritreans will withdraw to 15 miles from Ethiopia's new positions.

The war has left tens of thousands of soldiers dead, an unknown number of prisoners captured and 650,000 people displaced on both sides on the border.