Border Dispute around the world

Eritrea not pulling out of disputed border: UN

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) — The UN Security Council on Tuesday mulled the border dispute between Eritrea and Djibouti and concluded that Asmara had still not fulfilled its obligations to withdraw from the area, its president said.

Mexico's UN Ambassador Claude Heller, the council chair this month, told reporters after chairing a council session on the dispute that members expressed concern that Eritrea "has not fulfilled its obligations under Resolution 1862."

UN Security Council Resolution 1862 last January gave Asmara five weeks to pull its forces out of the contested area -- the Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island.

The council on Tuesday also asked UN chief Ban Ki-moon to pursue his mediation and authorized Heller to meet with Eritrea's UN envoy in order to express the concern of the 15-member body.

In a letter to Heller, Djibouti's UN mission said that pending a final report by the UN secretary-general on the issue, its government "does not see the need for any statement (by the council), as such an action would tend to compromise the significance and integrity of the resolution (1862)."

Last January 14, the council directed Asmara to acknowledge its border dispute and "engage in dialogue to defuse the tension and also in diplomatic efforts leading to a mutually acceptable settlement of the border issue."

It demanded that Eritrea "comply immediately" with its demands and "in any case, no later than five weeks after the adoption of this resolution."

It welcomed the fact that Djibouti withdrew its forces from the disputed areas as requested by the council last June and condemned Asmara's refusal to do so.

The long-running border row between Djibouti and Eritrea over the disputed Ras Doumeira promontory on the shores of the Red Sea flared up last June after previous clashes in 1996 and 1999.

The clashes have assumed a greater strategic significance because both France and the United States have bases in Djibouti, a former French colony.

The United States has more than 1,200 troops stationed in Djibouti, which hosts an anti-terrorism task force in the Horn of Africa.