Political attempts at reconciliation were made in October 1997 with the creation of an Afar conference, and again in November, though both of these failed. Mohamooda Gaas made a statement declaring unilateral cease-fire with government forces on 5 June 1998 after the beginning of the 1998-2000 Eritrean-Ethiopian War and an Eritrean attack on the town of Alitena, inhabited primarily by Irob people (an ethnicity closely related linguistically to Afars).
In October 1997, attempts at reconciliation were made through the creation of an Afar conference, but these efforts ultimately failed. Later in November, another attempt was made, but it too was unsuccessful. Mohamooda Gaas then declared a unilateral ceasefire with government forces on June 5, 1998, following Eritrean attacks on Alitena and the start of the war between Eritrea and Ethiopia.