Ras Doumeira incident

Date:June 10–13, 2008

Location:Ras Doumeira border region between Djibouti and Eritrea on the Red Sea Coast,
12°42′30″N 43°8′0″E

Result:Eritrean forces seized territory in April 2008 and withdrew in June 2010 to help facilitate
the start of bilateral negotiations. Qatari peacekeeping forces are deployed to monitor disputed
area.

Belligerents

Eritrea,Djibouti

Commanders and leaders

Isaias Afewerki

Sebhat Ephrem

Ismail Omar Guelleh

Ougoureh Kifleh Ahmed

Casualties and losses

Unknown

Djibouti claims*:

100 killed

100 captured

21 defected

44 killed

55 wounded

* No official figures from Eritrean sources

 Djibouti was supported by France. Though French troops provided logistical, medical and
intelligence support, France was not an active participant in hostilities.

The Djiboutian–Eritrean border conflict between the forces of Djibouti and Eritrea occurred
between June 10 and June 13, 2008. It was triggered by tension which began on April 16, 2008
when Djibouti reported that Eritrean armed forces had penetrated into Djiboutian territory and
dug trenches on both sides of the border. The crisis deepened when armed clashes broke out
between the two armed forces in the border area on June 10, 2008. During the conflict, France
provided logistical, medical and intelligence support to Djibouti, but did not participate in direct
combat.

Background

The currently in force 1900 boundary agreement specifies that the international boundary
starts at Cape Doumeira (Ras Doumeira) at the Red Sea and runs for 1.5 km along the
watershed divide of the peninsula. Furthermore, the 1900 protocol specified that Ile Doumeira
(Doumeira Island) immediately offshore and its adjacent smaller islets would not be assigned
sovereignty and would remain demilitarized. Djibouti and Eritrea had twice previously clashed
over the border area. In January 1935, Italy and France signed the Franco-Italian Agreement
wherein parts of French Somaliland (Djibouti) were given to Italy (Eritrea). However, the
question of ratification has brought this agreement, and its provision of substantial parts of
Djibouti to Eritrea into question. In April 1996 they almost went to war after a Djibouti official
accused Eritrea of shelling Ras Doumeira.

Eritrean movements in Ras Doumeira region

In January Eritrea reportedly requested to cross the border in order to get sand for a road, but
instead occupied a hilltop in the region. On April 16, Eritrea is reported by Djibouti to have set
up fortifications and dug trenches on both sides of the Djiboutian border near Ras
Doumeira.Djibouti, in a letter to the UN calling for intervention, claimed new maps put out by
Eritrea showed Ras Doumeira as Eritrean territory. Eritrea denied it had any problems with
Djibouti.

Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said on May 15 that the row was a "threat to the peace
and security of the whole Horn of Africa" and said Ethiopia would secure their trade corridor
through Djibouti in the event of a conflict. Ethiopia has relied on Djibouti for access to the Red
Sea since Eritrea's independence. Eritrea's President Isaias Afwerki denied sending troops into
the area and added they do not have any problem with Djibouti.

Armed clashes
On June 10, according to Djibouti several Eritrean troops deserted their positions fleeing to the
Djiboutian side. Djiboutian forces then came under fire from Eritrean forces demanding the
return of the deserters.Djibouti called up soldiers and police who had retired since 2004 in
response to the fighting. Eritrea dismissed accounts from Djibouti as "anti-Eritrean". A
statement from Eritrea's Foreign Ministry said it would not "get involved in an invitation of
squabbles and acts of hostility" and claimed Djibouti was trying to drag Eritrea into its
"concocted animosity".According to French Colonel Ducret, French soldiers in Djibouti provided
logistical and medical assistance to the Djibouti army as well as providing them with
intelligence. Clashes between the two forces reportedly continued for several days before
Djibouti's military announced on June 13 that fighting had subsided, but on the same day,
President Guelleh, was quoted by the BBC as saying that his country was at war with Eritrea.

44 Djiboutian soldiers were killed and 55 wounded during the fighting. According to Djiboutian
estimates, 100 Eritrean soldiers were killed, 100 captured, and 21 defected. Djiboutian
President Guelleh declared: "We've always had good relations. But they aggressively occupied
part of our country. This is an aggression we are resisting".

By 2008 the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency estimated the army was 14,000 strong (with
Eritrean army strength estimated at the same time as 200,000).

International reaction

■ Arab League:

The League of Arab States held an emergency session in response to the fighting and called for
Eritrea to withdraw from the border region.

■ France:

The French foreign ministry said it was highly concerned about the fighting. The French
defense ministry announced they were increasing their military presence in Djibouti and
increasing their support for Djibouti's army following the border clashes. The announcement
also said France was "preparing to deploy a forward logistics base and a land force near the
zone where the clashes took place", adding that "its military has stepped up air surveillance
over the border to monitor the activities of Eritrean forces." Reports also indicate that
additional naval forces are being moved to the region as well as an additional team of military
surgeons.

French Defense Minister Hervé Morin also held discussions with Djibouti's Defense Minister
Ougoureh Kifleh Ahmed, promising to strengthen the French military presence in the country in
case there is "an escalation in the current border row." Also to reaffirm the "very great concern
of France" over the recent border incidents, Morin, according to diplomatic sources, has
"reassured his counterpart of the full support" of his government, at the same time calling for a
"diplomatic" settlement of the issue. The two nations have a mutual defense agreement.

■ United Nations:

The United Nations Security Council called on both sides to exercise maximum restraint and re-
establish dialogue.

■ United States:

The United States State Department issued a press release condemning Eritrea's "military
aggression" saying it represented "an additional threat to peace and security in the already
volatile Horn of Africa" and calling for Eritrea to accept third party mediation on the border
dispute.Eritrea responded to the statement accusing the U.S. of instigating conflict in the
region. The American embassy in Djibouti advised citizens against traveling to the northern
Djibouti where Ras Doumeira is located for safety reasons.

■African Union:

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union urged Eritrea and Djibouti to exercise the
utmost restraint and to resolve the dispute through dialogue including fully cooperating with an
AU mission sent to the area. However, Eritrea, unlike Djibouti, had not yet accepted the
mission.Bereket Simon, special adviser to Prime Minister Meles Zenawi of Ethiopia told Reuters
"Ethiopia firmly believes that such unwarranted action should be stopped immediately and
peaceful and diplomatic solution must be sought for the problem."

Aftermath

On June 24, 2008, the United Nations Security Council held a meeting at their headquarters in
New York to hear a briefing of the situation, as well as statements from the Prime Minister of
Djibouti Mohamed Dileita and the ambassador of Eritrea.

A UN fact-finding mission was sent to the region and issued a report saying the standoff
between Djibouti and Eritrea could "have a major negative impact on the entire region and the
wider international community" noting while Djibouti has pulled out of the disputed area
Eritrea has not. The fact-finding mission was not allowed into Eritrea by the Eritrean
government.The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1862 on January 14, 2009,
urging dialogue between the two countries to solve the issue peacefully. The council welcomed
Djibouti's withdrawal to positions before June 10, 2008, and demanded Eritrea make a similar
withdrawal within five weeks of the resolution.In early June 2010, Djibouti and Eritrea agreed
to refer the matter to Qatar for mediation, a move that was praised by the African Union.