The Eritrean-Ethiopian War began in May 1998 and lasted until June 2000. The war started due to a border dispute between the two countries after Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993.

Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie took over Eritrea after World War II, and Eritrea fought for its independence from 1961 until 1991. After Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia, the two countries began to fight over their borders, particularly over a region called Badme. When they could not resolve the disagreement, Eritrea invaded Ethiopia in 1998, taking over Badme. By 2000, Ethiopia pushed Eritrea out and invaded portions of Eritrea in return. The war officially ended when the Eritrean-Ethiopia Boundary Commission was formed to establish the Algiers Agreement, which ruled in December 2000 that Badme belonged to Eritrea, although fighting continued until 2018.

The war caused hundreds of thousands of casualties from both countries. Survivors of the war reported that the armies from both countries used torture to devastate their enemies, with some claiming that Ethiopia used child soldiers. The graphic violence and threat to children caused many Ethiopians and Eritreans to flee to other countries in search of refuge. The war devastated the Ethiopian and Eritrean economies, leading to food shortages for the civilians who remained.