By Karin Davies
Associated Press Writer
Sunday, June 21, 1998; 5:14 p.m. EDT
ASMARA, Eritrea (AP) -- Two brothers tearfully embraced Sunday -- the younger deported to his native Eritrea from his Ethiopian home, the older who feared the sibling he raised would become another victim of the countries' border conflict.
``I was afraid they would kill him on the way,'' said 67-year-old Berhe Gebremicael, blotting his eyes.
His brother, Tekle, 50, was one of 720 people of Eritrean descent deported by Ethiopia in a dispute between one-time allies. Like others among the 550,000 Eritreans living in Ethiopia, many had their host country's citizenship.
Ethiopia forced another 300 Eritreans across the border Saturday at Om Hajer, in the country's southwest, and loaded 1,500 Eritreans aboard northbound buses for deportation, presidential adviser Yemane Gebreab said Saturday.
Diplomatic efforts have failed to resolve the 6-week dispute that has spread to three fronts and jeopardizes the stability of the Horn of Africa. Fighting, which has claimed hundreds of lives, has ebbed since June 11.
In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said his country was committed to trying to solve the conflict peacefully, while preparing for war.
``We are working on the basis that if war breaks out, we will win in a way that will make Eritreans stop their adventures,'' Meles said in comments published Sunday in Al-Ahram, Egypt's leading newspaper.
In a show of national defiance against a threat to their territory, more than 100,000 Eritreans welcomed the deportees Saturday by waving eucalyptus branches and tossing popcorn.
They were taken to Asmara University's dormitories, largely empty because students are on summer holidays or at the front. Student volunteers were helping to keep order, and women provided vats of spicy stew to be mopped up with a traditional, tangy bread.
Outside an iron gate, relatives ran fingers down long lists of names, searching for loved ones.
Ethiopia has accused Eritrea of expelling thousands of its citizens, a charged denied by Eritrea and unsubstantiated by independent observers.
Behre, a retired court clerk, raised his younger brother after their father was killed in a 30-year war for freedom from Ethiopia. Eritreans voted overwhelmingly for independence in a 1993 referendum backed by Meles, whom they helped to oust Ethiopia's Marxist dictatorship in 1991.
``We thought our relationship was bonded with blood and bones,'' Behre said.
Tekle, a contractor with Ethiopian citizenship, left behind his home for 36 years, his wife and five children. He fears his car and bank account may be stolen. ``The Ethiopian people are very friendly. I'm only angry with their government,'' he said.