Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Eritrea’s President Isaias and Gedu Andargachew, President of the Amhara region, were in the Ethiopian town of Omhager to open the Ethiopia-Eritrea border checkpoint at Omhager-Humera on Monday.
But reports from the area suggest that the ceremony didn’t go to plan.
The event was apparently forced to move into Eritrea after local people protested at the presence of Gedu, since the Amhara region doesn’t have a border with Eritrea.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday the Ethiopian army in the nearby city Shire started to move 50 heavy trucks of armaments from a military depot. The people blocked the roads with cars and forced them into the Shire stadium.
The soldiers, who seemed to share the views of the people and were sympathetic to their concerns that heavy equipment was being transported away from Tigray, ended up eating lunch there and holding discussing with local elders.