Djibouti, Eritrea: Arab League To Send Fact-Finding Mission

05 May 2008,APA Cairo (Egypt) The Arab league decided Sunday to send a fact-finding mission to the disputed border area between Djibouti and Eritrea to evaluate the situation and prepare a report to the league, the under-secretary of the Arab league for political affairs, Ambassador Ahamed ben Hely, told the press.

The under-secretary of the Arab league for political affairs, Ambassador Ahamed ben Hely, said Sunday that “the Arab Peace and Security Council approved Djibouti’s request to send the mission in an effort to solve the crisis between the two countries.”

According to him, the Council discussed the border problem between Djibouti and Eritrea in its first ever meeting Sunday at delegates level.

Ben Hely revealed that he will meet the ambassadors of the two countries to explore ways to defuse tensions and prevent more escalations.

“The Council called Djibouti and Eritrea to exercise restraint in dealing with the border issue and seek to solve it through peaceful means,” he pointed out.

The Arab Peace and Security Council stressed “the need to respect the principles of good neighbourliness between the two countries, not to make any changes in the existing borders since independence, respect unity and territorial integrity of their territories and deepening Arab-African cooperation.”

The Council also requested the Secretary-General of the Arab League Amro Mussa to contact the concerned parties, the Chairperson of the AU Commission and the African Peace and Security Council in a bid to secure an Arab-African joint action to address the crisis.

Djibouti indicated, on the sidelines of the meeting, that it sought regional and international efforts after the failure of bilateral dialogue.

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