EDITOR’S NOTE: The Djibouti government and military are filled with khat-addicted whores at the service of the Woyanne mafia. It is a joke that they are calling up retired army and police officers. The minute real fighting starts, they would run to the French military base for cover. Ethiopians will never forget what they did to the 8 helicopter pilots 2 years ago who sought political asylum in Djibouti.
(Reuters) – Djibouti called up retired police and soldiers on Wednesday after a clash with Eritrean troops killed at least two and wounded 21 others on their shared border over looking strategic Red Sea shipping lanes.
Eritrea, without confirming or denying the clashes, dismissed Djibouti’s statements as “anti-Eritrean”.
The first fighting since 1996 between two of Africa’s smallest states broke out on Tuesday, after a nearly two-month standoff. Djibouti hosts French and U.S. military bases and is the main route to the sea for Eritrea’s arch-foe Ethiopia.
Djibouti said the clash began after Eritrean soldiers deserted and the Eritreans fired on them, prompting return fire. A second outbreak followed when Eritrean soldiers demanded their deserters back.
Fighting continued on Wednesday in the Mount Gabla area of northern Djibouti, Djibouti’s Defence Ministry said.
Police officers and soldiers who retired from 2004 to 2008 were ordered to reintegrate with their units, a government statement said.
Mount Gabla, also known as Ras Doumeira, overlooks the strategic Bab al-Mandib straits, which are a major shipping route to and from Europe and the Middle East.
Eritrea’s Foreign Ministry said it would not “get involved in an invitation of squabbles and acts of hostility”.
“(Djibouti) has been making continued futile attempts to drag the government of Eritrea into its concocted animosity,” a statement said.
A Reuters witness at a French hospital in Djibouti said helicopters had ferried in dead and wounded soldiers.
“PICKING A FIGHT”
In mid-April, Djibouti accused Eritrea of digging trenches and building fortifications on the Djiboutian side of the frontier. Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki told Reuters in a recent interview that was a “fabrication”.
“It’s just another case of Eritrea picking a fight and finding itself in a position of hostility towards the main Western players in the region,” said Patrick Smith, editor of the Africa Confidential newsletter.
“Eritrea is sending out a warning to Djibouti in particular saying if it chooses to go with Ethiopia then it’s opening itself up to conflict with Asmara,” he said.
Djibouti’s army says nearly 75 percent of its 11,000 troops are now along its boundary with Eritrea, which is one of Africa’s most militarised states and has more than 200,000 soldiers as part of a mandatory conscription programme.
Djibouti and Eritrea are two of Africa’s smallest nations with populations of 820,000 and 4.7 million respectively.
Djibouti hosts two foreign military bases, including one of France’s biggest overseas contingents and a U.S. counter-terrorism task force of about 2,000 soldiers — many of them elite special forces who work with Ethiopian troops.
Former colonial power France signed a mutual defence pact with Djibouti after independence in 1977.
It is also a vital route for landlocked Ethiopia, which has vowed to protect its shipping access in Djibouti if necessary.
Ethiopia blamed Eritrea for the clash.
“Ethiopia firmly believes that such unwarranted action should be stopped immediately and peaceful and diplomatic solution must be sought for the problem,” Bereket Simon, special adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, told Reuters.
Djibouti has turned itself into a regional shipping hub after massive investment from Dubai.
By Omar Hassan
Additional reporting by Jack Kimball in Asmara, Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa; Editing by Bryson Hull and Matthew Tostevin.
Email This Post |
FORUM | 12 Comments
This provocation by the puppet government of Djibouti is the work of Woyanne’s masters thinking that this distraction is going to help the Woyanne nightmare in Somalia, what the the puppet governemtns of Djibouti and Woyanne don’t understand is that if fighting breaks out Eritrea is more than capable of handling both of these bankrupt puppet regimes, they don’t have any popular support and they can’t sustain a fight against the well trained and battle hardrened Eritrean defense forces, what the Woyanne doesn’t understand is that opening a front in the Asseb front will open Woyanne to increased attacks from the ONLF, OLF, EPPF, SLF, and TPDM. Woyanne’s mercenary army will also be open to attack in the Badme and Zalambessa fronts. This time there will not an order to stop at the border, the Eritrean defense forces will be given an order to take Shire, Adwa and Mekelle to finish the Woyanne menace once and for all. Neither the French military nor the US contingent in Djibouti will have any effect on the outcome if they are stupid enough to provoke and new round of war in our region.
This time the Ethiopian diaspora should not be fooled by Woyanne propaganda and support the wrong party to this war, this is a war between peace loving people of the horn and the puppets who are in the pay roll of western powers.
[Reply]
June 11th, 2008 at 6:54 PM
Africa oh Africa! When are you going to have some leaders who give the care of their people before that of their ever accomodating stomac. Joke of the day indeed. I do not believe any of sand dunes of Djibouti is worth a single Eritrean life. This is insane. It is very sad how we African can easily fall to the service of foreigners!
[Reply]
June 11th, 2008 at 7:02 PM
This tiny country – Djibouti – has been torn apart by five foreign governments, the U.S., France, Somalia, Eritrea, and Ethiopia, and the 6th most powerful government that controls its military and its entire population is King Khat. While its military is intoxicated with Khat, Eritrea can easily take over Djibouti within one hour. Of course, most of its people will seek shelter at the French Embassy in Djibouti and be saved from being slaughtered by the Eritrean army.
[Reply]
June 11th, 2008 at 10:01 PM
Eritrea should just throw few quintals of qat into the red sea. That should drown the joke-army of Djbouti.
[Reply]
June 11th, 2008 at 10:30 PM
As someone on another website said, their pit bull (woyane) has lost all its teeth so they’re now sending a chihuahua.
[Reply]
June 11th, 2008 at 10:42 PM
Here is the origin of this manufactured crisis between Djibouti and Eritrea. The French unknowingly exposed the lies of woyane and the US embassy.
“A military source said French forces based in Djibouti had carried out a reconnaissance on Thursday at the government’s request but had not been able to confirm an incursion.”
http://www.thetimes.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=753588
[Reply]
June 12th, 2008 at 2:43 AM
Djiboutians are not free people they are still in colonization.They are slaves of French. I do not have and show any respect to these ass lickers. Ethiopians will never ever forget what they did to Ethiopian pilots and other immigrants. They are bad and unrliabele people. The future Ethiopian government Should break diplomacy with these disgesting people. Have Etiopians done anything bad to you whenever you come to Ethiopia? Why are you collaborating with mersinaries and attack Ethiopians ?
[Reply]
June 12th, 2008 at 5:39 AM
for start Eritrea coastal line is from Ras Kesar to Ras Doumeira! Ras Doumeira is Eritrea, and the French knows it…If the Frensh had knew that Eritrea is invading Djibouti ..they would being talking about it right know .. but i havent heard any direct acsation from the French.
[Reply]
June 12th, 2008 at 9:00 AM
No question this is the work of Wyane.I hope the Eritreans drawn Djboutian soldiers into the red sea.
[Reply]
June 12th, 2008 at 9:43 AM
TPLF will never cheat ethiopians any where. we are with our eritreans brothers and sisters to free our country from the westren buchillas. these shameless and aimless bandas are giving our land to sudan to get some military assistance from sudan, but no forces will resist ethiopia’s ppl
[Reply]
June 12th, 2008 at 5:52 PM
lol @ “khat addicted whores” – In Eritrea, they call the Djiboutian army a bunch of male nurses.
i’m still laughing, that was a good one though.
[Reply]
June 13th, 2008 at 3:28 PM
this issa clown in djobouti thinks he is smart obeying his western masters,dumb idiot the afar have been waiting for this for a long time,removing them from power and giving the power to the afar is not a problem infact most afar in djbouti are screaming for escalation to war,sad but true it looks like half of djbouti are siding with eritrea.its a shame that djbouti would get involved in this mess but hey now that they are dont cry later when shit hits the fan.
[Reply]
July 18th, 2008 at 9:52 AM