IGAD condemns Eritrean attack on Djibouti, praises Sudan’s peace
June 14, 2008 (ADDIS ABABA) – The IGAD leaders condemned today Eritrean attack against its neighbouring Djibouti and praised the implementation of the peace agreement between north and south Sudan sponsored by the regional body.
The regional summit meeting was attended by Ethiopia’s Prime Minister, Sudanese President Omer al-Bashir, Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf, Djibouti president Ismael Omar Guelleh, Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki and Ugandan foreign minister Sam Kuteesa.
Eritrea suspended its membership in the regional organisation last year after other members refused to criticize its archrival Ethiopia for sending troops to Somalia.
The 12th Ordinary Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Saturday condemned what was described a “military attack by Eritrean troops” along the border with its tiny neighbor Djibouti.
In a statement issued at the end of the IGAD summit, the leaders deplored “the action by Eritrean troops that led to loss of lives and injury and called upon both parties, in particular the government of Eritrean to heed the call for restraint by the United Nations, African Union and the League of Arab States and to receive facts finding missions to ascertain the situation on the ground.”
Following the meeting the Djibouti’s president accused Eritrea of starting clashes between the two countries. Guelleh said the fighting that started on Tuesday and lasted two days had killed 12 Djiboutian soldiers and wounded 55 more.
“We’ve always had good relations,” Guelleh told journalists. “But they aggressively occupied part of our country. This is an aggression we are resisting.”
Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki, the outgoing IGAD chairman, called Eritrea’s decision to withdraw from the body “a serious threat to security in the region”.
In its final communiqué, the summit commended the implementation of CPA in the Sudan and encourages the parties to continue implementing all aspects of the CPA.
President al-Bashir had briefed the meeting on the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA).
The Kenyan President Kibaki, in his speech to the IGAd leaders, regretted that the renewed violence in the Abyei area of Sudan negated the sacrifices made by many and the very spirit in which the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was conceived.
He, therefore, called on both parties to the Agreement to nurture confidence and mutual trust in order to forge ahead with the implementation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement.
The former head of the IGAD, Kibaki, further underscored the need for IGAD to initiate constructive dialogue between Ethiopia and Eritrea to resolve the persistent border dispute between the two countries, saying the dispute was a serious threat to security in the region.
The summit welcomed and endorsed the EU-Horn of African strategy as vital contribution towards the development and integration of the region. It however emphasizing the initiative should fit into the priority areas identified by IGAD.
The summit further directed the secretariat to develop and implement regional integration policies and programs to make IGAD relevant as building bloc of the African Union.
During the summit, President Kibaki who has been the chairman of IGAD for the last two years handed over to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi while Kenya ‘s Eng. Mahboub Maalim, for Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Water and Irrigation, was appointed IGAD Executive Secretary taking over from Dr. Attalla Hamad Bashir of Sudan.
The next summit would be held in Khartoum, Sudan.
(ST)