AU Urges Djibouti, Eritrea To Show Restraint
Sat, 03 May 2008

The African Union(AU) has urged Horn of Africa rivals Djibouti and Eritrea to show restraint as they seek to resolve a border crisis.

The two nations have been at odds for nearly two weeks since Djibouti accused Eritrean forces of digging trenches on both sides of the border, with the Eritreans infringing on several hundred meters of Djiboutian territory.

Asmara rejected the claims, sparking a stand-off.

"(The) Peace and Security Council urged both countries to show maximum restraint and to resolve whatever dispute they may have through dialogue," the AU said in statement.

Djibouti and Eritrea have clashed twice over the border area situated at the southern end of Red Sea.

In April 1996 they almost went to war after a Djibouti official accused Asmara of shelling the town of Ras Doumeira.

And in 1999, Eritrea accused Djibouti of siding with Asmara's arch-foe Ethiopia while Djibouti alleged its neighbour was supporting Djiboutian rebels and had designs on the Ras Doumeira region, which Eritrea denied. press TV

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