Eritrea’s president flies to Ethiopia ending rumours he’s dead

The president of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, has flown to neighbouring Ethiopia for meetings on the coronavirus and the locust infestation ravaging crops in the region.

His arrival in Ethiopia’s capital, Addis Ababa, has ended weeks of speculation surrounding his health.

He had not been seen in public for so long that people started to wonder whether he was still alive.

It is not yet clear why President Afwerki has chosen to fly during this time, when almost every other meeting has been conducted via video conference.

Diplomatic relations between the two countries were only established in 2018, after the president and his Ethiopian counterpart, Abiy Ahmed, brought an end to the protracted border war between their nations.  

Afwerki has been Eritrea’s head of state since 1993, after leading the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front against Ethiopia during the Eritrean War of Independence.

Photo: Getty Images