Eritrea and Ethiopia open border

The leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have officially opened the border where a bloody war divided them for decades, with emotional residents embracing following several years of separation.

Taking the next step in a dramatic diplomatic thaw, Ethiopia later announced that troops on both sides would withdraw.

Ethiopia’s reformist new prime minister Abiy Ahmed and long-time Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki “marked the radical transformation of the Ethio-eritrea border into a frontier of peace & friendship”, Mr Abiy’s chief of staff Fitsum Arega said in a Twitter post.