Eritrea denies hostile intentions after Djibouti border clash
AFP
June 12. 2008
NAIROBI (AFP) — Eritrea denied any hostile intentions towards its neighbour Djibouti following a border clash in which two Djibouti soldiers were killed, in a statement received by AFP on Thursday.
Dozens of Djibouti soldiers were also wounded in the disputed Ras Doumeira border area on Tuesday when Eritrean soldiers opened fire on deserters, diplomatic and military sources said.
The incident was the first of its kind since a tense border standoff was triggered by an Eritrean military incursion into Djibouti on April 16.
"As the Eritrean government has repeatedly asserted, although it is closely and patiently following up the developments and its sponsors, it hereby reiterates that it would under no circumstances get involved in an invitation of squabbles and acts of hostility designed to undermine good-neighbourliness," the Eritrean foreign ministry said in a statement.
The Djibouti foreign ministry issued a statement on Wednesday accusing Eritrea of seeking to destabilise the Horn of Africa region by attacking Djibouti and vowed to use all available means to defend itself.