UNITED NATIONS - The tiny port
nation of Djibouti, a key U.S. ally in the Horn of
Africa, has urged the U.N. Security Council to take
immediate action to prevent a conflict with its
northern neighbor Eritrea.
In a letter to the council president circulated
Tuesday, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali
Youssouf said Eritrea has launched a major military
buildup on their border overlooking critical Red Sea
shipping lanes.
He accused Eritrea of carrying out "an undisguised
and naked provocation against my country's
sovereignty and territorial integrity."
"We call on the council to deploy urgently all
necessary measures toward preventing yet another
conflict, under any guise, in a region long ravaged
by mayhem, bloodshed and destruction," Youssouf
said.
More than 1,200 U.S troops are stationed in
Djibouti, which hosts the base for an anti-terrorism
task force in the Horn of Africa. France also has a
base in Djibouti, its former colony.
Youssouf said he was bringing the Eritrean buildup
to the council's attention because there has been a
progressive growth of Eritrean troops at our common
border since February 2008."
Djibouti has responded by sending troops to the
border as well, Youssouf said.
He said contacts with Eritrea at the highest level
"have failed to elicit any credible response."
Eritrea's U.N. Mission said no one was immediately
available to respond to the foreign minister.
Youssouf recalled that in 1996 Eritrea floated "a
false map ... that incorporated the same northern
border area into its territory, thus unilaterally
redrawing the established border."
Youssouf said Djibouti suspects the motivation
behind Eritrea's deployment is the strategic
location and panoramic view of the critical Red Sea
shipping lanes from the border.
Source: AP, May 06, 2008
