UN Secretary General Kofi Annan arrived in Palermo, Italy, late Saturday at the end of an eight-day sweep through Africa that took him to Sierra Leone, Benin, Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Annan kicked off his tour in Sierra Leone, where he attempted to relaunch the stalled peace process between the government and the rebel Revolutionary United Front.
In Benin, he took part in a conference on new and restored democracies attended by representatives of more than 90 countries.
From Cotonou, the United Nations chief headed for the Horn of Africa, stopping first at the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa before going on to Asmara in Eritrea, where he visited UN peacekeepers.
In Addis Ababa, he declared that the border conflict between the two Horn of Africa rivals, which broke out in May 1998, was over and called on the international community to assist in rebuilding the two countries.
Annan is due to attend a signing ceremony in Palermo on Tuesday of the first UN convention against international organized crime, before flying to Algiers later in the day for the signing of a comprehensive peace accord between Ethiopia and Eritrea -- PALERMO, Italy (AFP)
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