ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has ordered neighboring Eritrea to “immediately withdraw its troops” from Ethiopian territory, accusing Asmara’s forces of an “incursion” and working with “rebel groups” along its northwestern border.
Relations between the two Horn of Africa countries have long been fraught. In recent months, Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea of supporting insurgents on Ethiopian soil — allegations Asmara denies.
“Developments over the last few days indicate that the Government of Eritrea has chosen the path of further escalation,” foreign minister Gedion Timothewos told his Eritrean counterpart in a letter dated Saturday.
He demanded that Asmara “withdraw its troops from Ethiopian territory and cease all forms of collaboration with rebel groups.”
These actions were “not just provocations but acts of outright aggression,” he said.
But he said that he believed the “cycle of violence and mistrust” could still be broken through diplomacy.
The Eritrean government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Eritrea, one of the world’s most closed countries, gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993. They fought a devastating border war from 1998 to 2000 which claimed tens of thousands of lives.
The two governments cooperated against rebels from Ethiopia’s Tigray region during the 2020-2022 conflict, but fell out over the peace accord, from which Eritrea was excluded.
Ethiopia demands Eritrea ‘immediately withdraw’ troops from its territory
https://arab.news/rwgkc
Ethiopia demands Eritrea ‘immediately withdraw’ troops from its territory
- Relations between the two Horn of Africa countries have long been fraught
- In recent months, Addis Ababa has accused Eritrea of supporting insurgents on Ethiopian soil
France’s Macron accepts resignation of Louvre museum chief after jewel theft
- Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102m
- Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures
PARIS: French President Emmanuel Macron accepted the resignation on Tuesday of the head of Paris’ Louvre museum, which has been grappling with the fallout from a high-profile jewel heist and rolling strikes.
Laurence des Cars tendered her resignation, which Macron accepted, “praising an act of responsibility at a time when the world’s largest museum needs calm and a strong new impetus to successfully carry out major projects involving security and modernization,” his office said.
Des Cars has faced intense criticism since burglars made off in October with jewels worth an estimated $102 million that are still missing, exposing glaring security gaps at the world’s most-visited museum.
Strikes over pay and conditions since December have also led to regular closures and added to a list of woes that included two water leaks as well as a massive ticket fraud investigation.
Critics including the state auditors’ office have questioned the museum’s low spending on security and infrastructure maintenance while it made lavish purchases of new artwork, only a quarter of which is open to the public, and spent heavily on post-pandemic relaunch projects.
