Eritrea denies seeking Nigerian help in resolving border row with Ethiopia

ABUJA, Mar 05, 2004 (Sudan Tribune) — The Eritrean embassy in Nigeria has denied as baseless lies reports by the country’s The Guardian newspaper, quoting Eritrean Ambassador to Nigeria Daniel Yohanes that the Eritrean government had asked Nigeria to help in resolving the border problem it has with Ethiopia.

In a press release issued in Abuja on 5 March 2004, the Eritrean embassy said the Eritrean government had been clearly and repeatedly calling for the implementation of the ruling by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) in line with the Algiers peace agreement and that there was no need for any other mechanism.

The embassy said thus the Eritrean government had not sought help from the Nigerian government in resolving the problem.

The press release also reminded that the international community was obliged to compel Ethiopia to abide by the Algiers peace agreement and implement the decision by the EEBC.

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a brutal two-year war over their common border in the late 1990s. A peace accord signed in Algiers in 2000 committed both nations to accept the ruling of an independent commission to determine their 1,000-kilometre (600-mile) border.

But Ethiopia rejected the commission’s decision after it awarded the border town of Badme to Eritrea.