Djibouti warns UN over Eritrea's occupation

[Jacaylbaro]

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Djibouti, a key U.S. ally in the Horn of Africa, warned the U.N. Thursday that Eritrea's occupation of Djibouti territory on their border overlooking critical Red Sea shipping lanes could lead to war if the dispute isn't quickly resolved.

 

Calling the situation very grave, Djibouti President Ismail Omar Guelleh urged the Security Council to demand that Eritrea and Djibouti focus on resolving the crisis within weeks. Failure to comply with this demand should result in Security Council sanctions, he said.

 

Guelleh urged the council "to do everything possible" to convince Eritrea to leave the territory it has occupied since March.

 

"This aggression against my country should not be ignored or go unpunished, or worse, be taken lightly by the council," the president said.

 

More than 1,200 U.S troops are stationed in Djibouti, which hosts the base for an anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa. France also has a base in Djibouti, its former colony.

 

Uncertainty over the Djibouti-Eritrea border led to hostilities between the two countries twice in the 1990s.

 

The Security Council condemned Eritrea for launching an attack against Djibouti in June which the U.S. said left 44 Djiboutian soldiers dead and many more missing. The council called for a cease-fire and urged both countries to withdraw their forces from the border.

 

The council held an open meeting Thursday to discuss a report from a U.N. fact-finding mission which visited Djibouti after the attack but was barred from visiting Eritrea.

 

It recommended that the U.N. send a high-ranking envoy to engage with Eritrea and try to find a peaceful solution, saying Djibouti was being drawn into "a crippling and unaffordable military mobilization to deal with a situation that may ultimately threaten national, regional and international peace."

 

"In the event that the offer by the U.N. is again rebuffed by Eritrea, the matter should be referred to the Security Council for appropriate action," the fact-finding mission said.

 

Guelleh said Djibouti pulled its forces back from the border area and has pursued a diplomatic and peaceful solution. But "the Eritreans continue to reinforce their troops and perpetrate other incursions on our territory," he said.

 

Intensive regional and international efforts to resolve the crisis have been rejected by Eritrea, Guelleh said.

 

"If the lack of action continues ... this would not only encourage but would actually reward the attitude of Eritrea," he warned. "This gives my country only one option — the option of war."

 

Eritrea's U.N. Ambassador Araya Desta told the council the June incident "was instigated by the unprovoked attack unleashed by Djibouti against our units inside our own territory."

 

In June, Eritrea accused the United States of instigating the conflict.

 

Desta said "Eritrea's desire remains ... the restoration and cultivation of good neighborly relations with Djibouti on the basis of each other's full respect of territorial integrity and sovereignty."

 

U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad urged the council to support the fact-finding mission's recommendation and send a high-level envoy immediately.

 

"Eritrea should be given a clear time frame in which to accept the assistance of the United Nations, the African Union, or any other state, organization, or body that is acceptable to both parties to find a peaceful solution to the crisis," he said.

 

Khalilzad said the council must react "appropriately" if Eritrea rebuffs these efforts.

 

"If we fail to do so, not only do we risk yet another costly and tragic war in an area that has already suffered tremendously, we risk the credibility of the Security Council."

[Allamagan]

Oo waxanba u haystay in Eritrea dhulkii jabuuti ay ka qabsatay isaga baxday goor hore. Wallee Ereatrea waayadan waa aay rafaneysaa...

[Xaq]

does Eritrea have a death wish? Djibouti is comprised almost entirely of french and american military bases.