Ethiopia and Eritrea: Another War?

Above: Ethiopian troops marching (photo: www.militaryphotos.net)

The International Crisis Group (ICG) of Brussels warns of a catastrophic war between the African neighbors Ethiopia and Eritrea. The two countries waged war against each other from 1998 to 2000 which killed more than 70 thousand people.

An independent boundary commission has settled the territorial dispute between the countries through its “virtual demarcation” in November 2007. As a consequence, most of the 1, 700 peacekeepers were withdrawn from the border. However Ethiopia still has troops in areas belonging to Eritrea, creating a tension that can worsen over time.

“Neither regime wants war at present. Both prefer to keep tensions simmering, giving them an excuse to maintain authoritarian rule. But a minor border incident or miscalculation could produce a disastrous return to conflict,” the ICG report stated.

According to Ethiopia, Eritrea is illegally deploying troops in a supposedly demilitarized zone as it wants to further discuss the border demarcation.

In April, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed apprehension that the withdrawal of most of the 1,700 peacekeepers on the border may result to hostilities on the border and start another war between the two countries.

Above: U.N. Peacekeepers in Eritrea (photo: www.militaryphotos.net)

“The departure of the Boundary Commission and the U.N. peacekeepers has made this conflict much more dangerous, removing the means both for dialogue between the parties and for stopping small problems from escalating,” the ICG said.

Above: Female Eritrean soldier (photo: www.militaryphotos.net)

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