By Aaron Maasho

(AFP) – Stuck in the limbo of the bitter border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea, the town of Badme strives to grow even as fresh conflict brews.

Badme was at the heart of a bloody war that pitted the two enemies against each other between 1998 and 200O. A UN commission awarded the town to Eritrea two years later but Ethiopia has not handed it over.

Addis Ababa has vowed to return Badme but wants to negotiate the implementation of the ruling. Meanwhile, war clouds have started gathering again above this sleepy cluster of houses, flanked by sorghum and sesame plots.

Ethiopian infantry and armour are constantly involved in manoeuvres in the area. Eritrea’s military is deployed only a stone’s throw away.

“In some areas, soldiers from both sides are within shooting distance from one another. A single bullet fired can trigger a full-scale war,” says one UN employee on condition of anonymity.

Every month, some Eritreans risk their lives to cross the border and find refuge in Ethiopia. Non-governmental organisations say that between 250 and 300 of them arrive in the Shimbela camp alone every month.

After seven years of “no peace, no war”, Badme is seeking to develop, regardless of its uncertain future.

“The current population of Badme alone is almost 3,500, it is about 7,800 if the surrounding villages are put into consideration,” says Tilahun Gebremedhin, the town’s administrator.

“Population growth has been maintained each year since 2000, when it was around 2,500. This is the result of both settlement from other areas, and from the return of people displaced during the war.”

Some 2,000 people settled in Badme from other parts of the country, he explains.

“The town’s agricultural output has increased by 42 percent, this shows that development plans are well under way,” Tilahun says.

Ethiopian President Meles Zenawi last month said he was beefing up his army on the border with Eritrea for fear of an attack.

Asmara, which gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a 30-year war, denied acting aggressively but the escalating rhetoric fueled new fears of a resumption of hostilities between the two arch-foes.

In the eye of the storm, Badme residents obstinately hope that, short of a bona fide implementation of the 2000 Algiers peace agreement, a prolonged status quo will let them carry on with their lives.

“We have been anxious ever since we heard the news that Eritrean troops had infiltrated into the buffer zone and are preparing for war,” says 29-year-old Berihun, who has been living in Badme since 2000.

“But even so, I believe that some solution will be achieved to end all the misunderstanding.”

Gidei, 65, also refuses to imagine that a new war could erupt between the two Horn of Africa neighbours.

“Before arriving here 14 years ago, I was a refugee in Sudan. I became a member of the local militia soon after I arrived”, he says.

“We fought against the Eritrean army when they invaded, but as we were defeated, I had to go southwards and stay for nine months (the length of Eritrean army control).

“I never expected them to take control in the first place, nor did I expect them to stay more than nine months”, he adds.

As much as Badme’s current residents long for stability and hope to see their town turn into a thriving agricultural centre, few of them seem ready to make any concessions to Eritrea.

Tilahun makes little case of the UN commission ruling on Badme.

“It has always been, and always will be Ethiopian territory, we still don’t understand why they (Eritrea) fought against us. It’s just impossible to think otherwise.”