ADDIS ABABA, July 5 (Reuters) - Thousands of young Ethiopians who had volunteered to fight against Eritrea got a rousing send-off from large crowds as they left for the front on Saturday, witnesses said.
The volunteers drove through the city's main avenues in around 120 passenger buses decked in the Ethiopian tricolour flag of green, yellow and red, to cheers and ululation from thousands of wellwishers lining the streets.
Cars raced through the capital Addis Ababa honking their horns and crowds poured out of cafes waving miniature Ethiopian flags.
Crowds also thronged Maskal Square in the centre of the city, where the volunteers were given an official send-off.
Residents from the city's 265 neighbourhood associations danced and sang songs recalling the Battle of Adwa where Ethiopia defeated the invading Italian army in 1896.
Hundreds have died in a border war between Ethiopia and its Horn of Africa neighbour Eritrea since May 6, though there have been no reports of significant fighting since June 11. Both sides agreed last month to a moratorium on air strikes.