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Eritrea this week rejoined a regional bloc that it left 16 years ago, the latest efforts by the East African nation to repair ties with its neighbors, Al Jazeera reported.

Information Minister Yemane Meskel confirmed Eritrea’s reentry into the Intergovernmental Authority on Development in Eastern Africa (IGAD), saying that the country wanted to work with other bloc members to help advance peace and stability in the region.

He did not explain what prompted the country to rejoin the bloc.

Eritrea left the IGAD in 2007 to protest Ethiopia’s deployment of troops to Somalia to fight al-Shabab, the terror group that controlled most of the latter country’s southern area at the time.

Eritrea has repeatedly had disputes with its neighbors since it became independent from Ethiopia in 1993. It also fought a war against Ethiopia between 1998 and 2000.

But in recent years, Eritrea has taken steps to restore relations with other nations in the region.

The most significant move was a peace deal it signed with Ethiopia in 2018, which formally ended the state of war that had existed since the border conflict began. Eritrea also improved relations with other neighbors, including Somalia and Kenya.

Even so, the country – ruled by President Isaias Afwerki since its independence – remains under sanctions by the United States and the European Union for its alleged human rights abuses.

Human rights groups claim that Afwerki’s governance remains highly oppressive, citing ongoing military conscription that has compelled thousands of individuals to flee the country annually.

Eritrean troops have also been accused of alleged atrocities and war crimes during the 2020-2022 conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region – where they supported Ethiopian soldiers against Tigrayan forces.

Eritrean officials have denied the accusations, but witnesses said Eritrean forces remain in the region despite a November truce between Ethiopia and Tigray.