On May 24 - Eritrea, the northernmost province of Ethiopia that won a 30-year war for independence, formally declared itself a nation today.
The country's new red, blue and green flag, marked with a yellow olive branch, was raised during a midnight ceremony in the capital, Asmara. President Isaias Afewerki, a leader in the fight for independence, called the flag-raising a "moment of joy and resurrection for Eritrea."
He appealed to the world for help in rebuilding Eritrea, a country the size of Britain that lies on the coast of the Red Sea.
The ceremony came two years to the day when rebels led by Mr. Isaias captured Asmara, on May 24, 1991.
Two days later, the army of the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front, led by the rebel leader Meles Zenawi, marched into the capital of Addis Ababa as the rule of Mengistu Haile Mariam collapsed. An estimated 160,000 fighters and 40,000 civilians died in the war.
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