The UN Security Council on Wednesday lifted sanctions on Eritrea following a landmark
peace deal with Ethiopia and a thaw with Djibouti buoyed hopes for positive change in the Horn of Africa.

The council voted unanimously to lift the sanctions in a move that recognised progress toward peace between the country
and its neighbours.

The 15-member council passed a British-drafted resolution lifting with immediate effect arms embargoes, travel bans,
assets freezes and targeted sanctions on the country imposed by the UN in 2009.

In July, Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace agreement that formally ended a two-decade stand-off and restored diplomatic relations.

The two countries had cut all ties after a 1998-2000 border war that claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people.

The diplomatic thaw began in June when, under a new reformist leader, Ethiopia said it would fully accept the terms of a
previously-rejected peace agreement.

Ethiopia’s UN ambassador Taye Selassie said Addis Ababa welcomed the lifting of sanctions “unreservedly and without
equivocation” and said that the move marked a “new chapter of normalising relations” in the Horn of Africa.

The UN resolution also urges Eritrea to settle a border dispute with neighbouring Djibouti. The two countries agreed to
work towards reconciliation in September.

Deadly clashes broke out between the Horn of Africa countries in June 2008 after Djibouti accused Asmara of moving
troops across the border.

It came after Ethiopia and Eritrea in July declared an end to their state of war and agreed to open embassies, develop ports
and resume flights between the two countries after decades of hostilities.

The council welcomed the renewed ties in a statement at the time, but it stopped short of pledging that it could review
sanctions after the United States, China, Britain, France and Ivory Coast raised concerns about linking the development.

A November 2017 Security Council resolution said the peaceful settlement of the border dispute would be a factor in
any review of sanctions on Eritrea.

Both the U.S. and China have military bases in Djibouti. (dpa/NAN)