Eritrea Marks Independence as EU Calls for Peace
ASMARA, Eritrea — This small Horn of Africa nation marked independence from Ethiopia in muted style Monday as its forces struggled to contain an offensive by its former ruler.
Meanwhile, as Ethiopian troops dug in across key sections of western Eritrea, diplomatic efforts intensified to end the flare-up of fighting and restart peace talks.
The European Union urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to immediately end what it called senseless fighting, saying the conflict was having “dramatic humanitarian consequences for the civilian population.â€
Reno Serri, the EU’s special envoy to the Horn of Africa, left for the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, after nearly three hours of talks with Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Serri was to confer in Addis Ababa with officials from the Ethiopian government and the Organization of African Unity.
Ethiopia denies having designs on its northern neighbor, but it has so far captured a large swath of territory in the west and is poised on other fronts.
Eritrean celebrations began Sunday, but observers said they were muted by worries over the fighting.
“It is really a show of defiance more than a celebration of independence,†one foreign diplomat said.
Eritrea became independent in 1993.
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