Ethiopia and Eritrea accuse one another of launching war

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By TOE | Posted TOE Ethiopia and Eritrea each accused the other of starting a war of aggression on Friday as an internal Ethiopian conflict threatened to escalate into a regional war. Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of backing rebels in its northern Tigray state, who launched attacks against federal forces last month. The two countries severed diplomatic relations, and over the past week, Eritrean troops have been seen in northern Tigray with Ethiopia launching drone strikes against their forces. A foreign security source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP they estimated 5,000 to 8,000 Eritrean soldiers were present in Tigray. Eritrea’s conduct is “a blatant act of aggression that engages Ethiopia’s inherent right to self-defence”, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Gedion Timothewos wrote in a letter to diplomats. Eritrea’s information minister, Yemane Gebremeskel, responded on X that it was facing “an unprovoked war of aggressio...
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UN envoy proposes Western Sahara partition plan

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The U.N. envoy for Western Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, has floated the idea of dividing the territory between Morocco and the Polisario front as a solution to the near five-decades-old dispute, according to remarks seen by Reuters.

The long-frozen conflict, dating back to 1975, pits Morocco, which considers Western Sahara its own territory, against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front independence movement, which seeks a separate state there.

Morocco says autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty is the most it can offer as a political solution to the conflict, while the armed Polisario Front insists on the holding of a referendum with independence as an option.

In a briefing to the Security Council behind closed doors on Wednesday, de Mistura, a veteran Italian diplomat, said that partition “could allow for the creation on the one hand of an independent state in the southern part, and on the other hand the integration of the rest of the Territory as part of Morocco, with its sovereignty over it internationally recognized.”

Neither Morocco nor the Polisario Front accepted the proposal, De Mistura said in the briefing.

The U.N. Secretary General should reconsider the usefulness of his role as an envoy if no progress was made in six months, de Mistura said.

The U.N. Security Council has been calling in its resolutions on the parties to work together towards a mutually acceptable political solution to the conflict, while describing Morocco’s autonomy plan as “serious and credible”.

As Morocco’s autonomy plan gains traction at the bilateral level, de Mistura on Wednesday urged Rabat to “explain and expand” its proposal.

In July, France became the second permanent Security Council member after the U.S. to back Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory.

Algeria reacted to the French position by recalling its ambassador to Paris. Western Sahara has been at the heart of disagreements between Morocco and Algeria.

Spain, the former colonial power in Western Sahara, said in 2022 it backs Morocco’s autonomy plan. Arab monarchies and Israel also back Morocco’s sovereignty over the territory, where 29 mostly African and Arab countries have opened consulates in what Rabat sees as tangible support.

The Polisario in 2020 withdrew from a UN-brokered truce. But the conflict remains of low-intensity.

SOURCE: REUTERS AND AGENCIES



from The Times Of Earth https://ift.tt/TI1bPzg

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