Flags, flowers greet first Ethiopia-Eritrea flight in 20 years

Record ID: 1141595

  • Title: Flags, flowers greet first Ethiopia-Eritrea flight in 20 years
  • Date: 18th July 2018
  • Summary: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA (JULY 18, 2018) (REUTERS) ****WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** PEOPLE GATHERED AT CEREMONY CELEBRATING FIRST COMMERCIAL FLIGHT FROM ETHIOPIA TO ERITREA IN 20 YEARS FORMER ETHIOPIAN PRIME MINISTER HAILEMARIAM DESALEGN SEATED WITH HIS WIFE ETHIOPIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH POPE ABUNA MATHIAS LOOKING ON OFFICIALS CUTTING CAKE PLANE PARKED ON TARMAC PASSENGE
  • Embargoed: 1st August 2018 17:26
  • Keywords: Ethipioa-Eritrea peace first commercial flight peace deal Ethiopia-Eritrea flight Ethiopian Airlines Addis Ababa
  • Location: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA / ASMARA, ERITREA
  • City: ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA / ASMARA, ERITREA
  • Country: Eritrea
  • Topics: Diplomacy/Foreign Policy,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0018PA04EF
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: The first commercial flight from Ethiopia to Eritrea in 20 years landed safely in Asmara on Wednesday (July 18) to be greeted by dancers waving flags and flowers, cementing a stunning rapprochement that has ended a generation of hostility in a matter of days.
    Families separated from loved ones since the start of a brutal 1998-2000 border war sat next to dignitaries on the flight, one of two that took off from Ethiopia on Wednesday morning.
    Surafel Demissie, an Ethiopian priest whose parents died during his childhood, had never been to Eritrea - the country of his mother's birth - nor met any family members.
    The airline marked the departure of the planes, the other a Boeing 737, with a message on its Facebook page: "The bird of peace has just flown to #Asmara #Familyreunion #Ethiopia #Eritrea."
    The two 90-minute flights were the icing on the cake of a peace push by new Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed, whose three months in office have turned politics in his country - Africa's most populous after Nigeria - and the wider East African region on its head. Reconciliation between Ethiopia and Eritrea could change politics and security in the volatile Horn of Africa region, which hundreds of thousands of young people have fled in search of safety and opportunities in Europe.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2018. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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