Horn of Africa Nations Agree to Peace Deal

Eritrea and Ethiopia said Thursday that they would sign a peace deal in Algeria on Sunday ending their ruinous 2-year-old border war.

The peace plan, drawn up by the Organization of African Unity, calls for all hostilities to cease and for a U.N. peacekeeping force to patrol a 15-mile buffer zone inside Eritrea along the disputed 620-mile border.

Ethiopia and Eritrea each claimed Thursday that military triumph had led to the deal. Western allies of both nations have called the conflict a tragic waste of scarce resources by two of the world’s poorest nations, both of which are facing the threat of famine.

Ethiopia, which gained the upper hand with a huge military offensive last month, gave its backing to the plan Wednesday night after Eritrea accepted late last week.

Ethiopia said that the plan is consistent with its objectives and that its army had won a “shining victory” in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of soldiers.

Eritrea insisted Thursday that its much larger neighbor had agreed to the pact only after suffering military defeats in the last two weeks.

Eritrea seized pockets of land along the border after the war began in May 1998, but the gains were wiped out last month as Ethiopia marched into Eritrea. Neither side reported fighting early Thursday.