SUMMARY
The border demarcation issue involving Eritrea and Djibouti dates back to the map-drawing of colonial times, and had previously caused confrontation between the parties in 1996 and 1999. In 2008, following a familiar scenario of incursions and allegations, the tension led to two days of clashes between the countries. The countries have not yet resolved the incompatibility between them, but a breakthrough came in 2010 when Eritrea and Djibouti reached an agreement where the former agreed to withdraw its troops from the disputed border regions. Observers from Qatar were later deployed along the border to monitor and Eritrea subsequently withdrew its troops from the area.
IN DEPTH
Border dispute leads to clashes
The border demarcation issue involving Eritrea and Djibouti dates back to the map-drawing of colonial times. The contested border area has caused confrontation between Eritrea and Djibouti on two earlier occasions, in 1996 and in 1999. In April 1996 the parties came close to open warfare after Djibouti accused Eritrea of shelling Ras Doumeira town. Concurrently with the alleged 1996 incursion, Eritrea is said to have floated a false map incorporating the contested border area into its own territory. From the Djibouti perspective, according to Djibouti accounts, this act revealed the Eritrean intention to unilaterally redraw the established border. A crisis was averted through the withdrawal of Eritrean forces and a restoration of the status quo. Djibouti subsequently withdrew its allegations, but while the tension had been defused, the border demarcation issue was never resolved. In 1999 the situation again became tense when Eritrea accused Djibouti of siding with Ethiopia, with which Eritrea was engulfed in a war at the time. Djibouti, in turn, accused Eritrea of supporting a Djibouti rebel group, and having claims to the Ras Doumeira area.
Following several years of relatively friendly and collaborative relations between the two states, 2008 brought a familiar scenario of incursions and allegations. In April 2008, reports emerged of Eritrean incursions into Djiboutian territory, in the Ras Doumeira area, near the Red Sea. According to Djibouti officials, Eritrean civil engineering work underway since February was being carried out on the Djibouti side of the border, and despite attempts at negotiations on multiple levels - including diplomatic efforts at the highest levels - there was no clarity into the incursions. While Eritrean President Isayas Afewerki is said to have met with Djibouti military officials in January 2008 to inform them of their intention to do some work near their common border, nothing was formalized in writing, and a lack of communication and information-sharing led to a highly charged situation. It later became clear that Eritrea had since February been building a significant military presence in the border area.
When a delegation headed by the Djiboutian president arrived at Ras Doumeira on 22 April they were able to confirm an Eritrean military occupation of the border area, including the Ras Doumeira peninsula and mountain overlooking the Red Sea. Military delegations from each side met at the disputed area to compare border maps and discuss troop positions. The contact was, however, suspended by the Eritrean side, compelling Djibouti to deploy troops to the area.
Relations grew increasingly tense and overtures on behalf of Djibouti and various third parties to negotiate or substantively discuss the matter were largely dismissed by Eritrea. In May, Djibouti turned to the United Nations (UN) Security Council to request their intervention to prevent an armed conflict between the two states. According to the letter from Djiboutis foreign minister, Eritreas recent acts of aggression, in combination with the 1996 publishing of maps incorporating Djiboutian territory into their own indicated their intention to unilaterally redraw the established border. The Eritrean response was that they had "not occupied one inch of Djibouti territory", and on 19 May Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki dismissed accounts of a military stand-off in the border area as "wild invention" with backing from foreign powers.
Following a two-month stand-off in the Ras Doumeira area, Eritrean and Djibouti forces exchanged fire on 10 June 2008. Djibouti military statements described the decisive spark as having been their refusal to repatriate Eritrean deserters, in spite of Eritrea issuing an ultimatum for them to do so. Eritrea, in turn, neither confirmed nor denied the clashes having taken place, and issued an official statement declaring its refusal to engage in dialogue with Djibouti. Eritrea denied having made any incursions into Djibouti, describing the situation as a "manufactured border dispute". The military campaign of the conflict lasted two days.
In order to understand the eruption of the conflict, several dimensions should be considered. First is the problem of the definition of the common border, which is neither delineated nor demarcated. Varying interpretations of where the borders in the region should fall has previously led to armed conflict between neighbouring states, such as between Eritrea and Ethiopia 1998-2000. However, additional regional dimensions are also central to understanding the crisis. Djibouti provides the main sea-route for Eritreas arch-rival Ethiopia, and is said to have been benefiting from the Eritrea-Ethiopia stand-off. In addition, Eritrea and Djibouti have for over two years backed different sides in the Somali conflict. Through hosting UN-facilitated talks in 2008 - which made significant strides in a 9 June agreement - some sources state that Djibouti is considered by Eritrea as having come to the rescue of Ethiopian efforts in Somalia. By some accounts the crisis may also have links to Eritrean disappointment in the international failure to fully apply the ruling of the independent arbitration commission in the antecedent conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
External influence and involvement
Due to Djiboutis powerful allies - the country plays host to French and US military bases in the region and has a mutual defence treaty with France - the June 2008 clashes assumed greater strategic significance. Following the skirmishes, France announced its intention to deploy troops to the border area, committing to carrying out aerial surveillance and monitoring by sea. According to observers, around 100 French troops were deployed on the border, and there were suspicions that France was involved when an Eritrean gunboat was sunk after being hit by a missile on 15 June.
The United Nations (UN) Security Council was quick to condemn Eritrea for the border raids, as was the African Union (AU) and League of Arab States (Arab League). Shortly after the clashes, the Security Council asked that the UN send a fact-finding mission to the border area. Eritrea refused to receive them, as well as fact-finding mission delegations earlier in the year from the Arab League (in May) and the AU (in June), for which it was heavily criticized. Eritrea, in turn, explained its unwillingness to cooperate with the UNs fact-finding mission as a result of what it considered to be the UNs premature condemnation of Eritrea and its purported aggression against Djibouti. Eritreas ambassador to the UN, Araya Desta, described the border clashes as "instigated by the unprovoked attack unleashed by Djibouti against our units inside our own territory", stating that "contrary to the claims made, Eritrea has not taken any land that belongs to Djibouti and it does not have territorial ambitions".
While Eritrea denied having occupied Djibouti territory, there was conclusive evidence pointing to the contrary, such as aerial images. The fact that Eritrea denied having occupied any territory belonging to Djibouti - in spite of clear evidence to the contrary - leads the UCDP to conclude that Eritrea perceives the territory in question as rightfully theirs. According to this line of reasoning, Eritrea, thus, confirms the presence of incompatible positions in regards to the disputed territory. Therefore, in spite of Eritrea denying territorial ambitions in the area, and in combination with earlier statements and actions on behalf of the conflict parties in regards to the border between them, the UCDP understands the 2008 conflict as primarily concerning the disputed border territory.
For several years Eritrea failed to comply with international calls to withdraw its forces to the status quo ante following the clash in 2008. According to Djibouti accounts, Eritrea even strengthened its positions on the border. Threats of sanctions were levelled against Eritrea, if it continued to refuse to cooperate in resolving the border issue with Djibouti. These eventually made a breakthrough in June 2010 when the countries reached an agreement that Eritrea would withraw its troops from the borders, which would be monitored by observers from Qatar, as negotiations between the countries continued on the status of the disputed area.
