Jul 22, 2018

Eritrea appoints first ambassador to Ethiopia since 1998

Two Eritrean sisters get reunited in their home country after more than two decades without seeing each other. Photo: STRINGER/AFP via Getty Images

Eritrea has appointed an ambassador to its southern neighbor Ethiopia for the first time in two decades, the country's information minister announced on Twitter.

Why it matters: Earlier this month, the leaders of the two African nations announced an end to a war that had left 80,000 dead between 1998 and 2000 and hostilities frozen in the years since. The relationship has quickly thawed under the leadership of Ethiopia's new reform-minding prime minister, Abiy Ahmed.

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Global: Total confirmed cases as of 5 p.m. ET: 846,156 — Total deaths: 41,494 — Total recoveries: 176,171.
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