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Regional collisions

The Eritrea-Ethiopia war is helping the Islamist regime in Khartoum and further destabilising Djibouti and Somalia

The main beneficiary of the Eritrean-Ethiopian war (AC Vol 40 No 4) is Sudan’s National Islamic Front government. A year ago, both Addis Ababa and Asmara were committed to backing the northern and southern Sudanese opposition, grouped in the National Democratic Alliance, which was making increasingly effective attacks on NIF forces. Ethiopia has since reduced its support for the NDA after meetings with the NIF; more surprisingly, Asmara is also cosying up to Khartoum, signing a ‘reconciliation’ agreement in Qatar on 2 May. The terms include an Eritrean promise to give the Sudan Embassy, handed to the NDA after Asmara broke diplomatic relations in December 1994, back to the government. The NIF regime, which persists in its regional destabilisation strategy through the sponsorship of armed Islamist fighters, is now in the improbable position of being courted by two of its once most determined enemies – though who began the courting ritual is in each case a moot point. Relations have become an exercise in mutual manipulation....

(This article contains approximately 1825 words)

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Regional collisions

The Eritrea-Ethiopia war is helping the Islamist regime in Khartoum and further destabilising Djibouti and Somalia

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