By Louis Charbonneau
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Djibouti, a tiny Horn of Africa nation, says its neighbor Eritrea moved troops to the Djiboutian side of the border earlier this month, sparking clashes that resulted in the death of a dozen Djiboutian soldiers and wounding dozens more.
Eritrea denied making any incursions into Djibouti.
"Members of the council request the (U.N.) Secretary-General to send a fact-finding mission at the border between Djibouti and Eritrea," U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations Alejandro Wolff said in a statement to reporters.
He added that the council hoped Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon would brief it on the border situation soon.
The council statement also expressed "regret" that Eritrea had ignored a previous statement urging both sides to commit to a cease-fire, show maximum restraint and pull back forces.
Djibouti's foreign minister, Mahamoud Ali Youssouf, told the council his country supported the idea of a fact-finding mission that would set the record straight. He said Eritrea's agenda was to gain control of the Bab al-Mandib straits, which connect the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Youssouf said it would be dangerous if Eritrea got hold of the straits.
"It's the most frequented maritime route, where all the oil supplies for Europe and part of the United States comes through. And that's the core of the issue. We need to look into it very, very seriously," Youssouf said.
Araya Desta, Eritrea's ambassador to the United Nations, told the council that Djibouti is "leveling incessant and baseless accusations against the government of Eritrea for the past two months." He said Eritrea had no interest in any territory.
France has one of its largest overseas military bases in Djibouti. The United States also has a military base there.
Eritrea is already on the council's agenda due to its border dispute with Ethiopia. The council is considering a plan to disband its peacekeeping mission to the volatile border between Eritrea and Ethiopia after Asmara forced out most U.N. troops.
The United Nations withdrew its peacekeeping force from the border in February after Eritrea cut off fuel supplies. The force had been in place since 2000 after a two-year war between the Horn of Africa neighbors that killed some 70,000 people.
Source: Reuters, June 25, 2008