Ethiopia-Eritrea tensions 'worse'

2006-10-31 09:15

Foster Klug

Washington - United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan says persistent conflict between Ethiopia and Eritrea represents a "classic example of the tragedy" of Africa.

He warned that world attention was needed to keep another war from erupting between the Horn of Africa neighbours.

Annan said UN officials were "doing whatever we can to bring the two parties together", but had not been able to get the nations to co-operate with each other.

Annan said: "We need to handle it very carefully before it leads to another explosion."

He said the tragedy was that "two poor countries, desperately in need of development" to help their poor citizens, had instead spent hundreds of millions of dollars to arm their militaries for a fight over territory.

'Africa needs more and better aid'

Relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia had been consistently strained since Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war.

A border war ended with a cease-fire agreement in 2000, but tensions had continued.

Annan said in his speech that while Africa had seen economic and other improvements during his decade as head of the UN, much of the continent still faced disease, war, famine and dire poverty.

The UN chief said: "Africa needs more and better aid; it needs fairer trade; and it needs a green revolution to improve agricultural production and feed all its people."

He said the continent's wars "cry for African resolve and international attention". He noted that about half the world's armed conflicts and three-quarters of the UN peacekeepers were in Africa.

A bright spot was the election of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first elected woman president in Africa, which, Annan said, "speaks more eloquently about advances in the rights of women than words ever could".

- AP