Jerusalem Post
June 7, 1998
"Eritrea has been showing unreasonable belligerence"
(June 7) -- Just a week after two of the poorest nations in Asia launched a new nuclear arms race, two of the poorest nations in Africa, Eritrea and Ethiopia, have gone to war. There seems little anyone can do about this latest conflict except provide urgent mediation.
It is not possible to assign blame to either side for starting the conflict - both seem to have aided the rapid escalation from border spats to aerial bombing with equal enthusiasm. However, it can be said that Eritrea has been showing unreasonable belligerence over border issues towards all its neighbors, including Sudan and the blameless little haven of Djbouti. A suspicion lingers in diplomatic circles that this aggressive posturing might have started as a bid to gain some attention, on an increasingly crowded and noisy world stage, for the cash-strapped young state.
As usual, national poverty little affects the military hardware of states such as Eritrea and Ethiopia - there always appears to be a plentiful supply of arms and ammunition for any violent adventure. Nonetheless, the outbreak of war seems as irrational as it is unexpected. It is true there has been a simmering border issue between the two states for some time, but they also have had otherwise friendly relations since Ethiopia accepted the breakaway of its former province of Eritrea to independence five years ago. In fact President Clinton only recently singled out Ethiopia and Eritrea as an example of new African attitudes carrying hopes for a new continental revival.
While the world's general public may have been taken by surprise when the conflict erupted this weekend, Washington has been keenly aware of the growing border tensions, and also acutely aware of the international failures in Rwanda and Zaire. Until this week, the border conflict had been no more than isolated skirmishes within the bleak couple of hundred square kilometers claimed by both states, but US officials appreciated the inherent danger. For the past month Susan Rice, of the State Department's Africa desk, has been back and forth from Addis Ababa to Asmara, heading the American attempt to halt yet another African brush-fire war.
She clearly had failed when Ethiopian jets appeared over Asmara on Friday, but the administration must this time be given credit for being aware of the problem and for trying to do something about it. In that continuing American effort lies the best hope for a speedy resolution.
While the conflict may appear to be a low-key affair in a remote region, the quick suggestion by Muammar Gadaffi that Libya lead a Saharan peace force to the rescue is enough to raise alarm bells. Gadaffi's regional meddling has been dormant for some time, since the days of his interference in Chad and other past conflicts. It would be better kept that way, so the sooner US and African mediators persuade the Ethiopians and Eritreans to get back to peaceful discussions, the better for all of central Africa.