Ethiopia-Eritrea border tensions despite resettlement
| Publisher | Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN) |
| Publication Date | 17 February 2009 |
| Cite as | Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN), Ethiopia-Eritrea border tensions despite resettlement, 17 February 2009, available at: http://www.refworld.org/docid/499d209cc.html [accessed 22 December 2015] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
NAIROBI, 17 February 2009 (IRIN) - 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.
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