Eritrea/Sudan: Tensions
flare up over eastern Sudanese rebels
29 June 2005
ASMARA, ERITREA (AFP) —
Already tense relations between neighboring Eritrea and Sudan deteriorated
sharply as the two countries traded bitter threats and accusations over eastern
Sudanese rebels fighting the Khartoum government.
Meanwhile, the
rebel group in question, the Eastern Front, accused Sudan's military of
terrorizing civilians in Red Sea state with constant overflights by fighter
jets and other warplanes after charging last week that Khartoum had bombed
civilian targets in the region.
The increasing
verbal belligerence began with a statement from the Eritrean foreign ministry
accusing Khartoum of committing "horrendous crimes" in the troubled
western Darfur region and "atrocities" in eastern Sudan.
It ended with
Sudan's foreign minister warning that the situation on the border could
"explode" if Eritrea continues with what it claims is military
support for the Eastern Front.
In its strongly
worded statement, Eritrea scoffed at a Sudanese complaint to the United Nations
about its alleged support for the rebels and denounced Khartoum for repressing
minorities on its territory.
The Sudanese
accusations "are either pretexts put forth in order to derail the entire
peace process and renege from its commitments or deliberate diversion to foment
problems in the region," the foreign ministry said.
"The
horrendous crimes committed by the government in Khartoum in Darfur and the
atrocities and injustices it has continued to perpetrate in the eastern and
other underprivileged sections of the country in spite of the Naivasha Peace
Agreement have remained a cause of concern to the government of Eritrea and the
international community as a whole," it said.
That accord was signed
in January between Khartoum and southern rebels to end 21 years of war and is
hoped will serve as a framework for broader peace deals between the government
and rebel groups in Darfur and the east.
Both the eastern and western
groups claim their regions are being marginalized by the Arab-dominated
government in Khartoum and Eritrea hosts offices for rebels from both regions.
Relations between
Khartoum and Asmara have been tense for years with each side claiming the other
supports rebel groups on the other's territory and their common border has been
closed since 2002.
But the new row
sent already strained ties plummeting with Sudanese Foreign Minister Mustafa
Osman Ismail warning that the international community could expect a serious
escalation in problems if Eritrea did not end its alleged support for the
rebels.
"If Eritrea
carries on with this behaviour, the international community should expect
escalation," Ismail told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of
Islamic foreign ministers in Yemen.
"The
international community... should expect also the situation in eastern Sudan
and the borders (with Eritrea) to explode," he said.
Shortly before
Ismail spoke, a senior official with the Eastern Front told AFP that Sudanese
war planes were intentionally harrassing and frightening civilians in Red Sea
state as a prelude to new aerial bombing.
Asmara-based Salah
Barqueen said MiG-29s and Antonovs were overflying the Barka Valley
"spreading terror and scaring civilians."
"If the flying
doesn't stop, we will find ourselves compelled to respond with special
treatment according to their aggression," he said. "The flying is an
indication they will bomb again."
The Eastern Front,
which launched its first offensive against government positions south of Port
Sudan in Red Sea state on June 19, earlier accused the Sudanese air force of
bombing civilians in a bid to stop their attacks.
Sudan immediately
denied the charges but allowed that there were military operations in the area
aimed at pursuing the rebels which included aerial reconnaissance.
The rebel charges
have not been able to be independently confirmed due to the remoteness of the
region about halfway between Port Sudan and the Eritrean border but Khartoum
has been criticized in the past for bombing civilian targets in dealing with
other insurgencies.
Barqueen was unable
to provide any details about casualties sustained by civilians in last week's
alleged bombing and could not say whether fighting between the rebels and
government troops was continuing.
