TENSIONS SIMMER OVER DISPUTED BORDER
Several years after Ethiopia and Eritrea ended a conflict that killed more than 70,000 people and displaced 1.4 million, the two countries continue to disagree over the demarcation of their shared border.
More than 70,000 killed in 1998-2000 war
Nearly 110,000 still displaced
Landmines thwart people's return
Since a 2000 ceasefire, U.N. peacekeepers have policed the buffer zone between the two Horn of Africa neighbours, although their work has been hindered by what the U.N. Security Council has called "systematic violations" of its resolutions by Eritrea.
The dispute over the border centres on which side should control the dusty town of Badme. An independent commission awarded Badme to Eritrea in 2002, but Ethiopia did not implement the decision.
In November 2007, the commission demarcated the line by map coordinates in a ruling that Eritrea accepted but Ethiopia rejected.
The United Nations has warned that the border stalemate threatens regional security, and could trigger renewed conflict.
Those displaced by the war are still suffering the fallout, as thousands of landmines laid by both armies have prevented people returning home and growing food.
KEY FACTS
1998-2000 BORDER WAR
Number killed More than 70,000
Number displaced during war Eritrea - 1 million, Ethiopia - 360,000
(Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre - IDMC)
No. still displaced Eritrea: 40,000-45,000 (IDMC, June 2006)
Ethiopia: 62,000 (IDMC, April 2006)
Number of landmines laid 240,000 by Eritrean forces,
150,000-200,000 by Ethiopian forces (Landmine Monitor)
BORDER
Total length 1,000 km (620 miles)
Width of buffer zone 25 km (15 miles)
No. of U.N. military personnel 1,700