Eritrea rejects UN resolution on border dispute with Djibouti

January 16, 2009 (ADDIS ABABA) – Eritrean government has rejected a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding the withdrawal of its troops from the border with Djibouti within five weeks.

Last Wednesday, the 15-member body unanimously adopted a resolution, Urging Djibouti and Eritrea to peacefully resolve a border dispute that flared into fighting in June 2008 where at least 35 people were killed. The UN Security Council demanded also that Eritrea pull its forces from the contested area and cooperate with diplomatic initiatives.

However, The Eritrean foreign ministry rejected the “unbalanced and unnecessary” resolution saying it was adopted “Under strong pressure from self-interested powers.” Further, Asmara alluding to its border conflict with Ethiopia urged the Council to deal with the “real breaches of international law.”

“Eritrea has not occupied any land that belongs to Djibouti. It obviously cannot accept a resolution that demands the ‘withdrawal of its forces’ from its own territory,” the statement worded.

Asmara accuses the Security Council of sidelining its border dispute with Ethiopia following a two-year war where 70000 people perished. It says that the Security Council ignores the implementation of a decision by an independent commission that awarded a disputed border town to Eritrea but Ethiopia still occupies.

The armed conflict between Eritrea and Djibouti erupted last year after weeks of tensions and military build-up on both sides. A UN fact-finding mission, which was rejected by Eritrea, reported that the dispute had the potential to destabilize the entire region.

In October 2008, Representatives of Djibouti and Eritrea outlined their positions to a Council meeting that also heard statements from the Council’s 15 members, in which they stressed the need for restraint and backed existing international efforts to mediate a settlement.

(ST)