"The border conflict with Ethiopia (Part 1 of 2)" Top 5 Page for this destination Eritrea Warnings Or Dangers Tip by Saagar

This conflict is the world's most stupid. Basically, Ethiopia is dissatisfied with Eritrea's arrogance, and the blocking of Ethiopia's access to the sea (Assab). Eritrea is taking nothing from Ethiopia, and claims the moral high ground, posing a very arrogant stance. While the liberation of both Ethiopia from the Dergue regime and Eritrea from Ethiopia coincided in time and action, the few years of honeymoon that ensued were not to last. The two presidents started personifying the critical attitudes of each others' peoples as political expediency - both had promises they couldn't fulfill, such as democratic reforms, multiparty rule, prosperity etc... A stupid currency issue (Eritrea introducing Nakfa, banning Birr, and Ethiopia demanding hard currency payments for all vital exports), lead to souring of relations, erupting in a terrible propaganda war, one-sided expulsions of Eritreans from Ethiopia, an incredible arms race in light of extreme poverty and hunger and eventually a bloody war over mutually conflicting claims over the joint border. In '98 Eritrea managed to hold off Ethiopia more or less, but in a renewed conflict focussed on the Badame village and semi-desert area, Eritrea was soundly beaten back into her own territory in 2000. 80.000 killed... Few in Eritrea seem to know or acknowledge this fact. In a subsequent border demarcation by the UN-led border commission Ethiopia lost most of Badame to Eritrea despite having "won" the war.