ERITREA INVADED BY ETHIOPIA

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ERITREA INVADED BY ETHIOPIA
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BACKGROUND

• 1885 Eritrea was established by Italy
• 1952 Incorporated to the Ethiopian Federation as
  autonomous state
  
• 1961 Was annexed to Ethiopia
• 1993 Eritrea voted for independence being the
  newest country in the world

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The Conflict Area
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THE CONFLICT The war broke up in May 1998
in the Badme triangle The border was never well d
elineated Ethiopians seeking work crossed easily
into Eritrea. This land has always belonged to E
ritrea
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Being Eritrean, a crime in Ethiopia

• Since June 1998 more than 50.000 Eritreans have
  been expelled from Ethiopia. Deportations,
  ill-treatment of deportees, and arbitrary
  detentions of all kinds of people
• There are no proves that Ethiopians have been
  mistreated in Eritrea
  

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Human Rights Violations Against Eritreans
Ethiopia used napalm on the village of Shambiko,
on the western battle front, killing one person
, injuring another, and burning 150 houses.
After four days of fierce fighting, the Ethiopi
an forces have broken through Eritrean lines
invading the Eritrea national territory.
Ethiopian jets in turn struck twice at Asmara, h
itting both the military and nearby civilian
airports. It was not clear who launched the first
attack at the beginning of June last year.
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Eritreas Position

• There is land held by Eritrea before the conflict
  burst, thus the question of the disputed land can
  not be part of the take-it-or leave-it offer and
  should be the main issue in the peace initiative

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Eritrea, the country
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Eritrea A New Created Country that The
International Community should protect

• NameState of Eritrea
• Type of government transitional government
• President ISAIAS Afworki
• Capital Asmara (formerly Asmera)
• Administrative divisions 8 provinces
• Independence 27 May 1993 (from Ethiopia
  formerly the Eritrea Autonomous Region)
  
• Constitution transitional "constitution" decreed
  19 May 1993
  
• Population small population that is divided into
  nine ethnic groups
  

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Eritrea has been attacked by Ethiopia

• What has happened from March 4th to march 11Th

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• Eritrea withdrew from Badme and accepted the OAU
  peace plan
  
• a high-level body had been established to
  implement the OAU framework.
  
• Eritrea has not mention the possibility of
  further withdrawals because the territories are
  historically Eritrean
  
• An Eritrean Foreign Minister statement on Monday
  accused Ethiopia of "refusing to submit the
  totality of its territorial claims ... in
  explicit geographical terms"

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• Ethiopia attacks almost daily the Mereb-Setit
  front in an attempt to seize Eritrean
  
• 25 civilians have died in the Ethiopian attacks
• 53,000 Eritreans have been expelled and
  detaining more than 1,500 Eritrean youths in
  camps.

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Eritrean Official Press Release

• Eritrean Foreign Ministry Press Release March 10,
  1999
  
• Ethiopia Continues to Pursue Its Agenda of War
  March 8, 1999
  
• Press Conference By Eritrea about deportations
  March 5, 1999
  
• UN Repeats Call For Cease-fire March 5, 1999

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What has happened from March 11 to March 18

• Eritrea announced that it was preparing to pull
  back forces from the two countries' disputed
  border. On Thursday a statement issued in the
  Eritrean capital Asmara said "Eritrea is ready
  to implement redeployment in all other contested
  areas along the common border within the
  framework of demilitarisation of the entire
  common border. It withdrew from the main battle
  front at Badme in last February.

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• Diplomats warned that Ethiopia is preparing a new
  offensive further to the east at Zalambessa, one
  of three areas along the 600 mile (1,000 km)
  border where Ethiopia claims Eritrea still
  occupies its territory
• On Wednesday, there were reports of an
  intensified United Nations effort to bring the
  two warring sides together to implement the OAU
  plan - which both sides say they have accepted.

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• The UN Security Council is reported to have
  invited OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmad Salim
  to discuss the next steps as both sides seem to
  be interpreting the 11-point plan in different
  ways
• Last Sunday was a new military attack on Eritrea

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New attack on Eritrea

• The attack started on the Tsorona flank of the
  front, 100kms south of the capital Asmara, at
  0500 GMT (8am local time) on Sunday. Ethiopia
  denied the attack but next day accepted it

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Statement by the Union of African
ParliamentsResolution on The Eritrean/Ethiopian
Conflict Issued by the 35th Session of the Execut
ive Committeeand the 21st Conference of the
Union of African ParliamentsHeld in Niamey,
Niger from 18th-20th August 1998
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What this conflict is about

• Ethiopia feels surrounded by Eritrea since
  Eritrea locked Ethiopias access to the Red Sea.
  Ethiopia is now landlocked, as Eritrea retained
  its entire coastal line along the Red Sea.
  Eritrea has a strategic position along the
  world's busiest shipping lanes and the Middle
  East oil fields

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Other issues

• The threat of religious fundamentalism based in
  Sudan and the risk of war with Sudan constitute
  additional obstacles
  
• Although is has just about 4 million people they
  are divided on nine ethnic groups