An international tribunal in The Hague has ruled that Eritrea will have to pay Ethiopia millions of dollars in compensation for war damages, BBC online reports Wednesday.
Both were ordered to pay each other damages for the 1998-2000 border war, but the verdict leaves Eritrea with 10 million US dollar (53 mio. DKR) more to pay.
The ruling covers compensation for businesses and goods lost and villages destroyed during the bitter conflict. Eritrea has already said it accepts the ruling of the tribunal.
The Claims Commission, set up at the end of the war, ruled on awards across a range of issues. It gave a monetary value to the damage suffered by Ethiopians during a notorious incident when Eritrean jets dropped cluster bombs on a school in the town of Mekele.
Some claims – such as an Ethiopian demand for 1 billion dollar of environmental damage – were dismissed. In total Ethiopia was awarded 174 million dollar, while Eritrea got 164 million.
The border between the two countries is still in dispute and tens of thousands of troops remain entrenched along the border, over its bleak mountains and deserts.
