NAIROBI, June 17 (Reuters) – The armies of feuding Horn of Africa neighbours Ethiopia Woyanne and Eritrea are “less than a football pitch” apart, risking a catastrophic new war on their border, a think-tank warned on Tuesday. The latest in a string of recent international warnings over tensions between Ethiopia Woyanne and Eritrea — who fought a 1998-2000 war that killed at least 70,000 people — came from the Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG).
“Neither regime wants war at present. Both prefer to keep tensions simmering, giving them an excuse to maintain authoritarian rule,” ICG senior Africa adviser Andebrhan Giorgis said in a report titled “Averting New War.”
“But a minor border incident or miscalculation could produce a disastrous return to conflict,” the report added. “The troops face each other often at less than a football pitch’s distance.”
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also warned in April that the withdrawal of most of the world body’s 1,700 peacekeepers on the border, following a fuel cutoff by Asmara, risked new hostilities on the 1,000-km (620 mile) frontier.
Asmara says a November 2007 “virtual demarcation” of the border by a now-defunct independent boundary commission has ended the issue, and Ethiopia Woyanne must pull its troops back from areas designated to Eritrea.
Ethiopia Woyanne says Eritrea is illegally massing troops on the border in a supposedly demilitarised zone, and it wants to discuss the border demarcation further.
“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,” ICG’s Giorgis said.
Some regional diplomats, however, believe that both sides may be restrained by the prospect of world condemnation, their already stretched economies, and the past cost to both nations in terms of human lives and finances.
ICG called on Ethiopia Woyanne to withdraw soldiers from territory awarded to Eritrea by the boundary commission, on Eritrea to leave the Temporary Security Zone, and on the international community to provide “carrots and sticks” for that.
Both Ethiopian Prime Minister Woyanne dictator Meles Zenawi and Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki use the border as an excuse to enhance their power and stifle democracy, the report said.
“The stalemate on the border feeds and, in turn, is fed by growing authoritarianism in both states. The ruling regimes rely on military power and restrictions on civil liberties to retain their dominant positions.”
ICG said border tensions were “as high as they have ever been” since the war, with “constant shooting incidents and other tense episodes.”
Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Matthew Tostevin
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11 thoughts on “The armies of Woyanne and Eritrea a football pitch apart”
This ICG is a deceptive organization and now they are coming out with this so called warning to make it coincide with the latest spate of manufactured conflict and the orgy of condemnation of Eritrea by a bunch of puppet regimes and their masters. This organization wants to sound neutral but their neutrality is unmaked by how they write their reports. The border issue between Eritrea and Ethiopia is solved, there is no need to negotiate an issue already settled by the world court. Eritrea should not be expected to vacate its sovereign territory by anybody threatening anything. All they need to do is ask their puppet Woyanne to withrdaw from sovereign Eritrean territory but they won’t do it because Melles is serving their interests by maintaining a state of no peace no war conditions.
This vultures are doing all the latests warnings and condemnations as part of a concerted effort to expand their influence and keep the people of horn of Africa under neo-colonial rule. As long as Eritrea is free this dream of theirs will not be fullfilled. The people of Somalia are on their way to total freedom and soon the people of Ethiopia will wage an out war on Woyanne, that is when true peace will prevail.
There is not doubt who the beneficiaries would be if another war erupts between the innocent people of Ethio-Eritrea; it would be the ones who are pushing for all buttons of war while both nations people don’t even know wether they are going to have another meal the next hour, day, week, month, and year. The primary beneficiaries would be, A- the weapons manufactures from east to west, B- the lobbyist who perfectly know how much weyanes have in their pockets due to the other lobbyist or NGO’s who worked day in and day out as Ethiopia’s care takers, C- the immoral leaders of both nations, D- the state department who are in line to write books ones the blood shed is done like in Rewanda- the titles of their book will be, “Ethio-Eritrea shoulda woulda have been this and that”, and E- above all Ethiopia will be YugoEthiopia if such war takes place. Mark my words people! weyane had placed this great nation under such predicament and their is no one to stop it. There is to much hate toward one another, too much anger toward one another, too much death and destruction that took place toward one another, and above all too much quetions that the people of Tigry to answer for all the crimes that had been committed against the people of Ethiopia and the whole region; however, the weyane gang-ho do not feel those scenarios will take place because they feel safe and secure under the huge skirt of doctor Frazer. Trust me people the volcanos that had been created by weyane gangho will soon erupt soon- – there is no doubt about that. It has to come out one way or the other but lets pray the people of the horn of Africa weed out the evil doers of their country before they become the play toys of Dr. Frazer. Thanks and god bless the horn of Africa
Elias and readers of ER,
As Eritrawi stated above, this “Warning” is nothing new. It is the old regurgitated bah hoopla that instills fear, exaggerates the scenario to suit one’s purpose. This IGC crap is nothing more than that. They are subservient to the US State Department inept bunch led by none other than the “Honourable” Dr Jendayi Frazer. This woman has created more damage to Africa in general and the Horn region in particular single-handedly by following information from this “Think tank” group or that “Expert” group. These so called experts under which the US neocons apparently get their “Field” information, are usually made up by some NGO people who usually have the inside working mechanisms of foreign countries if they have a slave leader like the one they currently have in Ayte Meles Zenawi. This very article was out a couple of months ago and I guess they must have dug it for apparently they ran out of lies and innuendos to obscure the real issue on the ground.
I abslutly agreed what the above comment. We Ethiopians and Somalians need to work combined force among with our Eriterans brothers to fry the woyanne’s last base Mekele.
That is the only way peace and stablity could come to the intier regin. Lets hope the so called Ginbot 7 will take quick action to sign all the important powers such as EPPF,Olf, ONLF among the great fighters of the Ethiopians from Gonder,Gojam,Wolo to North Sewas. The sooner Ginbot 7 movement act, the sooner we could free our people!!!
Ginbot 7 leaders: need to understand the sooner you work this leadership role, the better the organisation could move for word. We already heard you enough!! there is no need to waste our/your’s time by going every European, American, and Canadian cities. We tought you had a chance to reach out all Ethiopians in diaspora through Ethiopian Network TV, Pal Talk, Radios and web sites aleady about your intention and stragle. We donot think it would be any need to go around repeat the same thing every cities. The Ethiopians are suffering and diying evey day with all kind of represions… We lack a strong leadership to free our people….simple organizing skill what it takes to mobilize the nation. We do not think it takes Phd holders to lead the stragle!!
The border case is closed, the weyanes need to pack and leave BADEME. No Eritrean or Ethiopian life should be wasted for no apparent reason. Let the two brotherly people live in peace and harmony, as they did for centuries. LET’S Give PEACE A CHANCE!
[quote]“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,” ICG’s Giorgis said.[/quote]
Come on now ICG, who are you trying to cheat here??? UNMEE left because of it concluded its mandate. The EEBC final and Binding protocol orders the dissolution of the peace keeping mission once the Verdict is entered as the final report. Hence the verdict has been entered at the end of November 2007. The only element remaining is for Ethiopian troops to leave the area given to them in the map as sovereign Eritrean territories and let the UN-cartographers do their work.
[quote]“The stalemate on the border feeds and, in turn, is fed by growing authoritarianism in both states. The ruling regimes rely on military power and restrictions on civil liberties to retain their dominant positions.”[/quote]
There is no stalemate or umbiguity in the Final and Binding Verdict, everything is crystal clear. The military Junta Ruling Ethiopian people knows exactly what needs to be done in order to dufuse and the tension, i.e. get out of sovereign Eritrean territories. The UNSC has full responsibility to force the refusing party with economic sanction and other forms of international measures to respect the international boundaries of other UN member states. Eritrea is a member of the United Nations, hence the UNSC has the responsibilities to ensure peace and serenity in the world.
I agree with the above comments man.Burning woyane will solve everything!!Woyane must be removed once and for all,and then peace will be a guarantee.
Down with TPLF gangs
ohhhh please stop these none sense statments regarding Eri-Ethio border.All these statements{God knows who’s posting them and his/her intenions} are nothing but to mislead and confuse the people of Eritrea and Ethiopia. posters of these article act as if they give damn about the people of Ethiopia and Eritrea, but history indicates that they are the ones behind all the bloodshed between the two people and the main beneficiaries of any new hostilities btwn Eri-Ethio.
For Godness sake and for the sake of peace and our younge generation, we as the people of horn africa and need to think for the best interest of our people. we should focus on reconstructing, reinstituting, educating and improving our people life standared instead of fighting on an already solved border issue.
The border dispute is solved once for all and all generations to come will abide by it.Eventhough weyane with it’s surrogate mother ms Frazier are trying to undo the border decision, they’ll eventually bow down to it. They’ve signed it and the virtual demarcation has been taken place, so there is no way out besides physical demarcation of the border.
Now, let’s ignore all these stupid statements coming out from these hideous organizations and fight against poverty, famine and illiteracy togthere.
Make no mistake and mark our words; if there is a force that can and should remove the invading, tplfwoyanae forces, of course, therre is one and only one; that is, the mighty united forces of the people of Ethiopia.
Well, both shabiaya and tplfwoyanae have more than a hundred thousand combatants who have been on combat alert, yet idle for the past years on both sides of the riverbank.
Although nobody expects either sides would get bored and leave the guns behind and walk to the promise land beyond the mountain, sonner or later the two sides will clash headon as either one attempts to cross the other side of the riverbank.
Well, what was the cause of this, the most awaited battle, if one asks, the answer is, the illegal agreement that the two enemeis made in Algeris behind the back of millions of Ethiopians. Period.
Like they didn’t act as one and fought together against the teritorial integrity of Ethiopia and the wellbing of Ethiopians, and as if they weren’t sworn in the name of the devil that menotored both fugitives in the house of the demons, both are now at the apex of their anger and anxiety that they would hastly march gainst eachother to the mother of all that boody battle where thousands will perish and more thouseands and thousands will be memed or disabled above or below the waist or the neck.
Well, let them fight till no soldier is left and let the winner declare the victory over the loser. The real loser is the one that faces the mighty Ethiopians. Fair enought.
The Woyanes have handed Ethiopia to the US state department in exchange for staying in power. Today, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Kenya and many others have become colonies of the West, thanks to their so called ‘democratic’ leaders who are allowed to keep the ‘locales’ in check by rigging elections, commiting genocide and sending soldiers to wrec havoc in neighboring nations in the service of thier masters in London, Brussels and Washington. The sadest part is that Ethiopia the only African nation that was able to defeat a European colonial invaders in the last century has become one in this century. As Ethiopians, we have an obligation to free Ethiopia from the mercenary regime, just as our for fathers did.
hey all ethiopians and eritrea u have to do ur best to uproot the primitive low life weyane.