http://mondediplo.com/2016/09/06hornofafrica
> September 2016
East Africa drawn into proxy war in Yemen
Horn of Africa, pivot of the world
Djibouti is a base for the world’s armies; Ethiopia and Eritrea are in
hostile rivalry; and Somaliland isn’t officially recognised as a state
but runs itself competently.
by Gérard Prunier
Horn of Africa, pivot of the world
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Refugees arriving by boat at the port of Djibouti after crossing the
Gulf of Aden to flee Yemen, 2015
Tony Karumba / AFP / Getty
Ethiopian army reconnaissance units crossed into the Tsorona region of
Eritrea shortly before dawn on 12 June, and encountered Eritrean
patrols. Within minutes, a long stretch of the former front line in
the war of 1998-2000 erupted into heavy artillery shelling, tank
movement and gunfire. Eritrea condemned this as an act of aggression
by Ethiopia; Ethiopia maintained an awkward silence, then on 14 June
issued a bellicose statement declaring it was capable of full-scale
war against its neighbour.
This threat may seem a disproportionate response to a border skirmish,
common since the uneasy Algiers agreement signed in 2000 (see Brothers
and enemies). But it needs to be seen in the context of tensions far
more serious than they seem. On 18 June a discreet emergency meeting
was held in Washington at the request of the Ethiopian government, and
three days later representatives of the armed Ethiopian opposition met
in Geneva. The Ethiopian regime has marginalised all dissident
movements so there is no civil opposition. The Ethiopian People’s
Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) of the former prime minister
and president Meles Zenawi (who died in 2012) has 472 of the 527 seats
in the House of People’s Representatives. In 2015 and 2016, revolts by
the Oromo and Amhara peoples, who have been left behind economically,
were brutally suppressed.
June’s political and diplomatic activity coincided with military
deployments. Ethiopian soldiers have been stationed in Djibouti’s
Tadjoura region since 6 June, under an agreement signed with its
president, Ismaïl Omar Guelleh, in May. The head of the Djiboutian
army publicly stated that under this agreement the Ethiopian army
could enter Djiboutian territory without prior consent, use local
military facilities and even intervene in internal conflicts.
Ethiopia fears Arab enemies
The agreement was hastily concluded after the announcement of a
contract, to develop the port of Berbera, between the (...)
Full article: 2 765 words.
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Received on Wed Sep 07 2016 - 19:03:52 EDT