Eritrea, Ethiopia leaders open long-closed border

Taking the next step in their dramatic diplomatic thaw, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea on Tuesday officially opened the border where a bloody war divided them for decades, with emotional residents embracing after years of separation. Ethiopia later announced that troops on both sides would withdraw.

Ethiopia’s reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and longtime Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki “marked the radical transformation of the Ethio-eritrea border into a frontier of peace & friendship,” Abiy’s chief of staff Fitsum Arega said in a Twitter post.