Hope in the air following peace deal between Eritrea and Ethiopia

Ethiopia and Eritrea have signed a peace treaty, ending a conflict which has lasted two decades. The agreement, which resulted from a surprise move by Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has led to the two countries reopening embassies and restoring flight links.

Ethiopia and Eritrea have signed a peace treaty, ending a conflict which has lasted two decades. The agreement, which resulted from a surprise move by Ethiopia’s new Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed, has led to the two countries reopening embassies and restoring flight links.

“Saying this is historic and unexpected news is no exaggeration,” said an Open Doors regional expert. “We are carefully optimistic, but only time will tell.”

Conflict with Ethiopia has been used to justify forced conscription in Eritrea, and false imprisonment of many Christians. Encouragingly, Eritrea recently released 35 Christians imprisoned for belonging to unregistered Christian denominations. But Open Doors estimates that there around 1,000 people still in prison for their religious beliefs, including many prominent church leaders.

Christians in Eritrea don’t expect an immediate change to their circumstances. One leader said, “Please continue to pray for Eritrea. Don’t think the government is changing. Yes, there are a few improvements. We are able at least to know where believers are being jailed. Their families and parents can send food to prisons. But, that doesn’t mean everything has changed. We continue to meet secretly, and the surveillance is still in place.

“However, the smell of hope is everywhere. One area where Christians hope to see big change is on the economic front. People are suffering, and the church finds it hard to minister to people in the current economic climate. Opening up access to Eritrea brings hope of a brighter economic future indeed.”

Please pray:

• For greater freedom for the church in both Eritrea and Ethiopia
• That those in prison for their faith would soon be released.