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Djibouti says clashes with Eritrean troops at border

10 Jun 2008 19:57:41 GMT
Source: Reuters

DJIBOUTI, June 10 (Reuters) - Djiboutian soldiers clashed with Eritrean troops for the first time in a nearly two-month old standoff, Djiboutian state media reported on Tuesday.

The Eritrean government was not immediately available for comment, and no independent confirmation of the clash was immediately available.

"There was a clash between the two armies this afternoon," Djiboutian government media reported the Ministry of Defence as saying. "The fighting is still happening."

The clash took place in the Mount Gabla area in northern Djibouti, the Defence Ministry was quoted as saying.

The two tiny Horn of Africa nations have been locked in a standoff since mid-April, when Djibouti accused Eritrea of a illegal foray across its border. Eritrea has denied any aggression.

An African Union fact-finding mission was in Djibouti to monitor the situation over the weekend, but has made none of its findings public yet.

The two nations clashed over the border in the mid-1990s. Eritrea's rivalry with neighbouring Ethiopia led to a 1998-2000 war over their border that killed at least 70,000 people.

Bitter feelings over that war have dominated politics in the Horn of Africa ever since, and both countries are supporting different sides in neighbouring Somalia's latest civil war. (Additional reporting by Jack Kimball in Asmara, Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Matthew Jones) (For full Reuters Africa coverage and to have your say on the top issues, visit: http://africa.reuters.com/ )

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