But while bilateral contacts were resumed, Eritrea massed large amounts of troops, with their accompanying weaponry, and invaded the Badme area on 12 May.

Eritrea broke diplomatic relations with the Sudan in December 1994.

* List of diplomatic missions in Eritrea

* List of diplomatic missions of Eritrea

Though Djibouti is nominally neutral, it broke off relations with Eritrea in November 1998, renewing relations in 2000.

While Djibouti ’ s President Ismail Omar Guelleh has close ties with Ethiopia ’ s ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front ( EPRDF ), he has tried to maintain an even hand, developing relations with Eritrea.

Tensions with Yemen over fishing rights in the Red Sea flared up in 1995 and again in 2002, and Eritrea ’ s difficult relations with other nations could hamper further development of the industry.

Eritrea also has very tense relations with all of its neighbors: Sudan, Ethiopia, Yemen, Somalia and Djibouti.

After many months of negotiations with the Sudanese to try to end the incursions, the Government of Eritrea concluded that the NIF did not intend to change its policy and broke relations.

Eritrea developed relations with Israel shortly after gaining its independence in 1993, despite protests among Arab countries.

* Denmark – Eritrea relations

Ethiopia's relations with Eritrea are extremely tense due to an ongoing border dispute.

It also has sought to develop its relations with Sub-Saharan Africa, leading to Libyan involvement in several internal African disputes in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Somalia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, and Ethiopia.

An Ethiopian account ( Kebra Nagast ) maintains that the Queen of Sheba had sexual relations with King Solomon ( of which the Biblical and Quranic accounts give no hint ) and gave birth by the Mai Bella stream in the province of Hamasien, Eritrea.

Eritrea developed relations with Israel shortly after gaining its independence in 1993, despite protests among Arab countries.

However, the repatriation project encountered a series of obstacles: the runway at Axum Airport was considered too short for a cargo plane carrying even one of the thirds into which the stele had been cut ; the roads and bridges between Addis Ababa and Axum were thought to be not up to the task of road transport ; and access through the nearby Eritrean port of Massawa – which was how the stele originally left Africa – was impossible due to the strained state of relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

Category: Eritrea – Ethiopia relations

Category: Eritrea – Ethiopia relations

Category: Eritrea – Ethiopia relations

He was considered to be a hardliner in Eritrea's continuing struggles with Ethiopia over the border, and was known as a proponent of stronger relations for Eritrea with Middle Eastern nations.

The Ethiopian Orthodox Church claims to possess the Ark of the Covenant, or Tabot, in Axum, not far from the border with Eritrea.

The Italians suffered about 7, 000 killed and 1, 500 wounded in the battle and subsequent retreat back into Eritrea, with 3, 000 taken prisoner ; Ethiopian losses have been estimated around 4, 000 – 5, 000, but with 8, 000 wounded.

The two churches remain in full communion with each other and with the other Oriental Orthodox Churches, although the Coptic Orthodox Church does not recognize the deposition of the third Patriarch of Eritrea, Abune Antonios.

It is bordered by Somalia to the southeast, Eritrea on its northern, the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea with Yemen on its eastern, and Ethiopia to the west and south.

Djibouti was home to an old civilization, together with northern Somalia, Eritrea, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, was known to the Ancient Egyptians as Punt ( or " Ta Netjeru ," meaning god's land ), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC

Eritrea is an ancient name, associated in the past with its Greek form Erythraia, Ἐρυθραία, and its derived Latin form Erythræa.

The Italians created the colony of Eritrea in the 19th century around Asmara, and named it with its current name.

Together with northern Somalia, Djibouti, and the Red Sea coast of Sudan, Eritrea is considered the most likely location of the land known to the ancient Egyptians as Punt ( or " Ta Netjeru ," meaning god's land ), whose first mention dates to the 25th century BC.

Around the 8th century BC, a kingdom known as D ' mt was established in Eritrea and northern Ethiopia, with its capital at Yeha in northern Ethiopia.

Central areas of Eritrea and most tribes in today's northern Ethiopia share a common background and cultural heritage in the Kingdom of Aksum ( and its successor dynasties ) of the first millennium ( as well as the first millennium BC kingdom of D ’ mt ), and in its Ethiopian Orthodox Christian Church ( today, with an autocephalous Eritrean branch ), as well as in its Ge ' ez language.

With the rise of Islam in the 7th century the power of Aksum declined and the Kingdom became isolated, the Dahlak archipelago, northern and western Eritrea, came under increasing control of Islamic powers based in Yemen and Beja lands in Sudan. The Beja were often in alliance with the Umayyads of Arabia who themselves established footholds along stretches of the Eritrean coastline and the Dahlak archipelago while the Funj of Sudan exacted tribute from the adjacent western lowlands of Eritrea.

The Italian possession of maritime areas previously claimed by Abyssinia / Ethiopia was formalized in 1889 with the signing of the Treaty of Wuchale with Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia ( r. 1889 – 1913 ) after the defeat of Italy by Ethiopia at the battle of Adua where Italy launched an effort to expand its possessions from Eritrea into the more fertile Abyssinian hinterland.

The Italian Eritreans strongly rejected the Ethiopian annexation of Eritrea after the war: the Party of Shara Italy was established in Asmara in July 1947 and the majority of the members were former Italian soldiers with many Eritrean Ascari ( the organization was even backed up by the government of Italy ).

The main objective of this party was Eritrea freedom but they had a pre-condition that stated that before independence the country should be governed by Italy for at least 15 years ( like happened with Italian Somalia ).

" The Ambassador's word choice, along with the estimation of the British Ambassador in Addis Ababa, makes quite clear the fact that the Eritrea aspiration was for Independence.

The commission proposed the establishment of some form of association with Ethiopia, and the UN General Assembly adopted that proposal along with a provision terminating British administration of Eritrea no later than September 15, 1952.

In 1952 the United Nations resolution to federate Eritrea with Ethiopia went into effect.

193-Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, North Korea, South Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Besides Egypt, the Church of Alexandria has jurisdiction over Pentapolis, Libya, Nubia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and all Africa.

* His full title is Pope and Lord Archbishop of the Great City of Alexandria and Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Orthodox and Apostolic Throne of Saint Mark the Evangelist and Holy Apostle that is, in Egypt, Pentapolis, Libya, Nubia, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and all Africa.

During the immediate postwar years, the British proposed that Eritrea be divided along religious lines and parceled off to Sudan and Ethiopia.

Eritrea is located in the Horn of Africa and is bordered on the northeast and east by the Red Sea, on the west and northwest by Sudan, on the south by Ethiopia, and on the southeast by Djibouti.

The Tigre reside in the western lowlands in Eritrea and Sudan.

They are a nomadic and pastoralist people, related to the Tigray-Tigrinya people of Eritrea and Ethiopia and to the Beja people of Sudan.

They reside in the northern coastal lowlands of Eritrea and the eastern coasts of Sudan.

Since then, Sudan has accused Eritrea, along with Chad, of supporting rebels.

Earlier this month Sudan and Eritrea agreed to abolish entry visa requirements, opening their common borders for free movement of both nationals.

Following the decisive Ethiopian victory at Adwa, Menelik II rapidly negotiated a series of treaties fixing Ethiopia's boundaries — with French Somaliland in March 1897, British Somaliland a few months later in June 1897, with Italian Eritrea in 1900, Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1902, British East Africa in 1907, and Italian Somaliland in 1908 — which simplified this problem on one level.

It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the southwest, Chad to the west and Libya to the northwest.

The UNCCD has 194 country Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, The Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burma, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, the People's Republic of China, Colombia, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d ' Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, The Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, the Republic of Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, South Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

: Algeria, Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Comoros, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia ( Beheading penalty ), Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Malawi, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Namibia, Nigeria ( death penalty in some states ), Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Somalia ( death penalty in some states ), South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe