Djibouti urges Security Council for prompt response against Eritrea’s provocation

Addis Ababa, May 7, 2008 (WIC) - Djibouti has urged the U.N. Security Council to take immediate action to prevent a conflict with its northern neighbor Eritrea, AP reported. In a letter to the council president circulated Tuesday, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahmoud Ali Youssouf said Eritrea has launched a major military buildup on their border overlooking critical Red Sea shipping lanes. He accused Eritrea of carrying out "an undisguised and naked provocation against my country's sovereignty and territorial integrity." "We call on the council to deploy urgently all necessary measures toward preventing yet another conflict, under any guise, in a region long ravaged by mayhem, bloodshed and destruction," Youssouf said. Youssouf said he was bringing the Eritrean buildup to the council's attention because there has been a progressive growth of Eritrean troops at our common border since February 2008. Djibouti has responded by sending troops to the border as well, Youssouf added.

(c) Walta Information Center, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia