RESULTS OF ARAB LEAGUE FACT-FINDING MISSION ON

C O N F I D E N T I A L CAIRO 001761 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, AF/E (SKORUPSKI) E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/07/2018 TAGS: PREL DJ ER EG SUBJECT: RESULTS OF ARAB LEAGUE FACT-FINDING MISSION ON DJIBOUTI-ERITREA BORDER Classified By: Classified by Acting Minister Counselor for Economic and Political Affairs Yael Lempert for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: Arab League African Affairs Director Samir Hosni led an Arab League fact-finding mission to the Djibouti-Eritrea border on May 9-11. Members of the group met with Djiboutian officials, but Eritrean officials refused to meet with them. The committee found that Eritrean troops were occupying Djiboutian territory in the Ras Doumeira/Doumeira Island area. However, in subsequent conversations, Eritrean officials denied that Eritrean troops had crossed the Djibouti border. The committee's yet unpublished report recommends the two sides withdraw from the area, enter into negotiations to draw and demarcate the border, and states that the Arab Peace and Security Council reserves the right to intervene in order to peacefully resolve the crisis. Although both Djibouti and Eritrea are associated with the Arab League, Eritrea,s refusal to meet with the fact-finding mission signals that the Arab League likely will not have a large role to play in resolving the dispute. End Summary ¶2. (C) On July 30, Arab League African Affairs Director Samir Hosni briefed us on the results of the Arab League,s May 9-11 fact-finding mission to the Djibouti/Eritrea border. Hosni said that the fact finding committee found that Eritrean troops were occupying Djiboutian territory in Ras Doumeira and Doumeira Island, but said that in his subsequent conversations with Eritrean officials they denied that Eritrean troops had crossed the Djibouti border. Hosni passed us an Arabic-language copy of the fact finding report, which he said had not yet been disseminated to Arab League member states. ¶3. (SBU) According to an unofficial Embassy translation of the report, the committee met with Djiboutian officials including President Gela and Foreign Minister Youssef. The committee,s investigation revealed that the eastern part of the Djibouti-Eritrean border is unmarked, and armed forces in the region are unsure of the location of the official border line. The committee expressed concern that Eritrean forces had built military installations and support structures-including roads, trenches, and armed outposts-in Ras Doumeira, which Djiboutian officials confirm is inside the Djibouti border. ¶4. (SBU) The committee recommended that the two sides enter negotiations to complete the process of drawing the border, and put land marks and signs on the border, as was done with the western part of the Djibouti-Eritrea border. Additionally, the committee advised that both sides withdraw from the Ras Doumeira area until the borders are drawn and marked. In the event that no agreement can be reached, the committee advocated for arbitration and wrote that the Arab Peace and Security Council reserved the right to intervene to convince both sides to peacefully resolve the issue. ¶5. (C) Comment: Although Djibouti is an Arab League member and Eritrea has Arab League observer status, there is probably little that the Arab League can realistically do to resolve the border dispute. Arab League leadership has its hands full with issues Lebanon and Sudan, and Eritrean officials, refusal to meet with the fact-finding committee underscores their lack of deference toward the Arab League as a possible mediator in the dispute. SCOBEY