It has restored its link with Ethiopia, lost in 1991 when Ethiopia's dictator, Mengistu HaileMariam, was overthrown.
ECONOMIST: War and paper peace in Sudan
2.
This culminated in independence after an alliance of the Eritrean People's Liberation Front (EPLF) and a coalition of Ethiopian resistance movements defeated Haile Selassie's communist successor, Mengistu HaileMariam.
BBC: Eritrea profile
3.
SPLA's main backer, Ethiopia's ruler, Mengistu HaileMariam.