Djibouti Says Eritrea Seized Disputed Territory
Djibouti says Eritrean troops moved in to the Dumeira Mountain and Dumeira Island after Qatar withdrew peacekeepers this week
Djibouti has accused Eritrea of occupying disputed territory along their border after Qatar withdrew a peacekeeping force earlier this week. Djiboutian officials say Eritrean troops took control of Dumeira Mountain and Dumeira Island on Wednesday, a day after Qatar removed 450 soldiers who had controlled the territories for the past seven years. Qatar did not give a reason for the move, which came after Eritrea and Djibouti sided with Saudi Arabia in an ongoing diplomatic dispute between Qatar and its larger neighbor. Djibouti’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mohamed Siad Doualeh, told VOA that his country has lodged a complaint with the United Nations Security Council. “I made sure that the president of the security council has all the facts, as well as the secretary-general,” he said. In a follow-up email, Doualeh wrote, “We expect the secretary-general and the security council to pay maximum attention to the situation, and urge the parties to ensure that there is no military presence and activity in the area.” The African Union has appealed for calm, and in a statement said it is “in the process of deploying a fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border.” VOA reached out to Eritrean officials for comment but has not received any response. Eritrean and Djiboutian forces clashed for four days in June 2008, after Djibouti said Eritrea deployed troops across the border. Qatar offered to help mediate the dispute in 2010, and the two African nations agreed to let Qatari troops deploy in the contested area. Plans to take the dispute to arbitration, however, never materialized. Doualeh said Eritrea still holds 13 prisoners from the 2008 fighting and has not let them communicate with their families. He called on Eritrea to release the prisoners and end its occupation of Dumeira. “We are very much willing to peacefully resolve the dispute with Eritrea in a manner that is consistent with international law,” he said. Salem Solomon is an award-winning multimedia reporter and editor with the Voice of America’s News Center. Salem’s multimedia and data-driven projects include , a project that won the , , , ,  and  which . Previously, she worked in the Africa Division, covering the latest news from across the continent. She started working at VOA with the Horn of Africa service while completing her master’s degree in journalism at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, where she was a teaching assistant. She has reported and edited stories online, and for radio broadcasts and TV in English, and . Salem’s work has appeared in prominent news outlets including , and others. She researches trends in analytics and digital journalism. Her work focused on journalism innovation and fact-checking initiatives has appeared in the , on Poynter Online and Harvard’s Nieman Journalism Lab, and she has taught advanced reporting at the University of South Florida’s Department of Journalism and Digital Communication. For tips and inquiries, email salemsolomon@voanews.com.