Eritrea failed to comply with Djibouti resolution – UN

By Tesfa-alem Tekle

April 10,2009 (ADDIS ABABA) — The UN Security Council in a fresh accusatio n this week said that Eritrea has failed to fulfill its obligation to withdraw troops from parts of Djibouti and it insists for an immediate pullback.

The UN ambassador of Mexico who holds the Council’s rotating presidency said Eritrea had also failed to begin peace talks with its neighbor. Claude Heller told the 15-member Council on Tuesday he would meet Eritrean representatives to express the UN’s concerns.

In a letter to the council , Djibouti’s UN Ambassador Roble Olhaye noted that 2 1/2 months have passed and said his government is “very skeptical” about the council’s request to give the secretary-general more time to resolve the dispute “due to Eritrea’s utter intransigence so far.”

In June last year, several days of clashes between the two states left 44 Djibouti’s soldiers dead in the disputed Ras Doumeira promontory on the shores of the Red Sea.

Following the clashes, the council called for a cease-fire and urged the two countries to withdraw their forces from the border, which according to the same resolution Djibouti did, but Eritrea did not.

The resolution adopted by the council in January expressed “deep concern” that Eritrea has not withdrawn its forces and has refused to engage in dialogue with Djibouti or accept offers from the secretary-general, the African Union and others to help resolve the dispute.

The council demanded that Eritrea “engage actively” in dialogue and diplomatic efforts to defuse tension and find “a mutually acceptable settlement of the border issue.”

It also demanded that Eritrea “comply immediately” with its order to pull its troops back from the border. It gave Eritrea five weeks to take action, asked the secretary-general to report on compliance and said it will review the situation in six weeks.

Since Eritrea gained independence in 1993 from Ethiopia, the red sea nation has been involved in two serious conflicts over territory with its neighbor.

(ST)