Unresolved Eritrea-Djibouti Tensions Threaten Regional Peace
When Eritrea and Ethiopia agreed last month to end their decades-long conflict, the international community responded enthusiastically. Less than a day after the countries signed a joint declaration of peace, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres suggested that sanctions against Eritrea, imposed for alleged support of al-Shabab, an extremist group based in Somalia, may soon […]
One of Africa’s Longest Wars Officially Ends
One of Africa’s longest running conflicts, the Ethiopia and Eritrea war, has officially ended. The east African nations of Ethiopia and Eritrea border dispute was ended and a new era of Eritrea and Ethiopia peace was ushered in on July 9th, 2018. It was a decades-long conflict that had a huge human cost and severely […]
Addis, Mogadishu Agree to Strengthen ‘Brotherly’ Relations
New Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somali President Mohamed Abdullahi “Farmajo” Mohamed agreed Saturday to “strengthen their brotherly bilateral relations” and to collaborate with the African Union in seeking solutions to problems on the continent. After bilateral talks Saturday in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, the leaders said in a statement the two countries would […]
‘It’s Time to Get Tough on Eritrea’
In the course of the all-embracing efforts to pursue regional integration in the Horn, the Eritrean regime’s belligerent behaviour towards it neighbours and its unholy marriage with insurgents is posing threats to regional stability and peace. The Asmara regime’s recent incursion in the disputed area along the Djibouti border is raising a red flag. And […]
EU Musn’t Ignore Human Rights in Giving Eritrea Aid – Activists
Eritrean activists visited Brussels this week to lobby the European Union over alleged human rights abuses committed by the authorities in Asmara. The campaigners are worried that the EU is ignoring violations committed by the Eritrean government and continues to provide development aid with no strings attached. The European Parliament is expected to vote on […]
Djibouti Plays the West Off Against the Far East
China recently established a military base in Djibouti. Little is known about the base except that it may have capacity to house up to 10 000 troops. The military base has attracted much international attention, with little understanding of either Djibouti or China’s motives. Turning 40 years old on 27 June, Djibouti – which has […]
With Qatari forces gone, tension rises between Djibouti and Eritrea
The African Union is calling for calm as border tensions between Djibouti and Eritrea intensify. The rising threat of unrest is further fallout from the diplomatic crisis embroiling Qatar. A decades-long border dispute in the Doumeira region that, on occasion, had turned violent, was dampened in 2010 when the two sides agreed to let Qatar […]
“Otherwise We’ll Have to Go to War” – Somaliland Demands Recognition 26 Years On
Somaliland’s Foreign Minister talks about the self-declared state’s struggle for recognition, domestic successes, and strategies towards Somalia. Shortly after the collapse of the brutal Siad Barre regime in 1991, Somaliland unilaterally declared independence from Somalia. It reinstated the borders that had existed when it was briefly a sovereign state in 1960, and its government called […]
Investing in localised initiatives to mitigate drought can help the continent to break the cyclic nature of disasters
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recently declared that millions of citizens in the Horn of Africa face food shortages. Owing to a persistent lack of rainfall between October and December, as many as 12 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in dire need of food assistance. But this is not […]
Faith and Money From the Middle East Fuelling Tensions in the Horn of Africa
Relations between the Horn of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula go back centuries, with trade playing a key component in binding their people together. Religion has also played a part. The expansion of Wahhabism – the interpretation of Islam propagated by Saudi Arabia – has been funded by the massive oil wealth of the kingdom. […]
