FRANCE MOVES TROOPS NEAR DJIBOUTI-ERITREA BORDER
June 14, 2008 PARIS - France has decided to deploy troops in Djibouti near the border with Eritrea following clashes there, a military source said Friday.
A combat unit and logistical team will be deployed to the border area following skirmishes that Djibouti military officials said left nine of its soldiers dead.
French forces will also carry out aerial surveillance of the border and use its navy to monitor Eritrean forces, said the military source.
France already has 2,850 troops stationed in Djibouti, its biggest military base abroad.
The UN Security Council on Thursday condemned Asmara for Tuesday's border raids against Djibouti, the first since the two countries deployed troops along their frontier.
Tensions have been running high between Eritrea and Djibouti since Eritrean troops staged a cross-border incursion into the disputed Ras Doumeira area on the banks of the Red Sea.
The two small nations on the western banks of the Red Sea fought for control of the area in 1996 and 1999 and have never held talks to resolve the dispute over Ras Doumeira. Posted to the web 13 June 2008, French News Agency
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