A month after Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace accord ending their two-year war, Switzerland has launched a project to help Ethiopians taking refuge in Switzerland to go back home.

Around 1,000 Ethiopians arrived in Switzerland when the border war erupted and the Swiss programme aims to help them return and reintegrate into their homeland.

The Federal Refugee office said that those Ethiopians who arrived in Switzerland before January 1998 could benefit from six months of training classes either in Switzerland or Ethiopia.

The agency said that it was open to help meet the Ethiopians' needs. This could include help in starting small enterprises, training to repair cars and bicycles, construction and training in information technology.

Tens of thousands of people are believed to have died on both sides of the border war that began in May 1998. It ended in June this year after Ethiopia penetrated deep into Eritrean territory.

swissinfo with agencies

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