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Formerly bitter east African rivals celebrate official border opening

Video. Formerly bitter east African rivals celebrate official border opening

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Celebrating their dramatic diplomatic thaw, the leaders of Ethiopia and Eritrea have officially opened the border where a bloody war and ensuing tensions had divided them for decades, with emotional residents embracing after years of separation.

Ethiopia's new, reformist Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and longtime Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki visited the Bure Front on Tuesday along with members of their militaries to mark the Ethiopian new year, Abiy's chief of staff Fitsum Arega said in a Twitter post.

The two opened the border post at the Serha-Zalambesa crossing, after visiting the Bure Front.

Footage showed Abiy in camouflage alongside Isaias, while hundreds of civilians lined a road with the countries' flags in hand.

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