Eritrean envoy in Morocco, background
North Africa-Morocco-Eritrea, Politics, 6/17/1998

Eritrean Local Councils Minister, Ahmed Mahmoud Charifo, arrived here on Tuesday to convey a message from President Issaias Afworki to King Hassan II.

The Eritrean envoy is accompanied by T. Gebre Selassie, Minister of Energy, and Abbdullah Mahmoud Jaber, member of the Executive Bureau of the Eritrean Popular Democratic Movement.

The message "deals with the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia and the efforts exerted so far by the government of Asmara to find a peaceful solution to the dispute", Spokesman of the Eritrean delegation, Abdullah Mahmoud Jaber, told the press, Map reported.

Several Eritrean envoys were dispatched abroad to explain their country's position regarding the conflict with Ethiopia.

The border dispute between the former allies degenerated into a war on three fronts with planes and thousands of troops, although there has been no significant fighting since the middle of last week.

Both sides launched air strikes on June 5. One person was killed when Ethiopia bombed Asmara and 47 people -including many civilians- died when Eritrea attacked the north Ethiopian town of Mekele.

The two countries were one until Eritrea peacefully gained independence in 1993, two years after rebels from both entities jointly overthrew Ethiopia's Marxist regime of Colonel Mengistu Haile Mariam.

The U.S. government has been trying to mediate an end to the conflict, in part through Assistant Secretary of State for Africa Susan Rice.

A U.S.-Rwandan deal was accepted two weeks ago by Ethiopia. But Eritrea appeared to reject the peace proposal, complaining the four-point plan was rushed because the United States sought "quick fix" solutions it said amounted to bulldozing.

Four African presidents are due to visit Ethiopia and Eritrea this weekend in a new peace initiative by the Organization of African Unity.

In another mediation attempt, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak met Eritrean Foreign Minister Haile Woldensae in Cairo on Sunday, two days after holding talks with an Ethiopian envoy.

An Eritrean envoy has also been to Tunisia and Libya, seeking broader participation to resolve the crisis.

Previous Stories:
  Gaddafi suggests forming African force to solve Ethiopia - Eritrea dispute   (6/3/1998)
  Eritrea wants Arab support in its crisis with Ethiopia   (6/2/1998)
  Eritrean reservation on Egyptian - Ethiopian initiative for Somali crisis   (2/11/1998)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search