EU, US are concerned by Ethiopia-Eritrea border stalemate: report

ADDIS ABABA, May 15, 2004 (Addis Admas) — The efforts to resolve the border dispute between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been dragging, and as a result, the impasse is causing serious tension in the area. US and European diplomats have been warned to monitor the situation with total care, with fears that fighting could erupt any time, it has been learnt.

Sources say that the main fear of the diplomats is that the Ethiopian government can launch an attack against Eritrea in a bid to overthrow Isayas’s government, and the US government, in a statement, has warned the Ethiopian government’s provocative and intransigent attitudes.

It was also reported that the Eritrean government, by accusing UN peacekeeping mission, is trying to put pressure so that the demarcation process could start as soon as possible.
However, the US and European governments don’t expect the Ethiopian government to accept the Boundary Commission’s ruling and give up Badme and some parts of Irob, and fear that the dispute may prolong, leading to fresh fighting.

Some diplomats say that since the Isayas government lacks the military strength to win, it will not start the war. However, the US and European diplomats fear that Ethiopia might start the fighting.

Sources say that although the Western countries trust Ethiopia more than Eritrea, they have intensified their follow-up on Ethiopia, who has the resources to start fighting.

According to the sources, the US and European governments fear that the Ethiopian government can launch the war against Eritrea in a bid to run from the current tension in Ethiopia and win the people’s support.