Pressure is being exerted on the government of Eritrea to announce the names of those killed in the Eritrea-Ethiopian war that ended in 2000.

For weeks, the president's office has been receiving messages from provincial governors and party functionaries relaying requests of Eritrean parents who want to be informed of the fate of their children.   

The government has made preparations to announce the names through the local party offices, the "Kebele" by the weekend of Martyr's Day, which is observed on 20 June by Eritreans inside and outside the country.  

Skeptics inform our source that, given his past behavior, President Isaias Afwerki is unlikely to make the announcement because he doesn't want to give the appearance he yields to public pressure.  

The Eritrea-Ethiopia war erupted in May 1998 and ended in June 2000, with the signing of a cessation of hostilities agreement in Algiers.  A comprehensive peace plan was signed in December 2000.

The war is reported to have claimed the lives of tens of thousands of Eritreans and Ethiopians.   The precise number of those killed is unknown but the estimates of those killed range anywhere between 70,000 to 200,000. 

Two years ago, the Eritrean government officially announced that the number of Eritreans killed in the war was 19,000.  There was no announcement made on the number of soldiers who were MIAs (missing in action), wounded or taken prisoners.  

The Ethiopian government is reported to have notified families of its soldiers about the death of their loved ones.  However, it  hasn't given official figures for the number of Ethiopians killed in action claiming that "few governments would give out such details."