From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Jun 08 2010 - 13:21:22 EDT
Qatar mediating Eritrea-Djibouti border dispute
Qatari PM says Eritrea has already conducted withdrawal from disputed border
areas.
2010-06-07
DOHA - Qatar said on Monday that Eritrean troops have withdrawn from an area
they controlled in Djibouti as a result of Doha's mediation bid to end a
territorial dispute between the two neighbours.
Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassem al-Thani was quoted by
official QNA news as saying that Eritrea has already conducted "a withdrawal
from disputed border areas," a move verified by a Qatari observer force.
The Qatari mediation provides for the formation of a committee, headed by
Sheikh Hamad, which is empowered to appoint an international firm to
demarcate the border, with Eritrea and Djibouti's consent, QNA said.
The Qatari observation force is tasked with monitoring the border between
the two countries "until the conclusion of a final agreement on settling the
conflict," QNA reported.
The force, made up of about twenty soldiers, arrived in Djibouti on Friday,
according to Djibouti press reports.
The long-running border row between Djibouti and Eritrea over the disputed
Ras Doumeira promontory on the shores of the Red Sea led to clashes in 1996,
1999 and again in 2008.
Qatar, a small Gulf country rich in natural gas and oil, has offered to
mediate in various conflicts, including internal strife in Sudan, Yemen and
Lebanon.
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