Egyptian officials sounded out the views of Eritrean President Isias Afwerki and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi during talks in Cairo and Sharm El-Sheikh this week on ways to end the border conflict in the Horn of Africa. Both Ethiopia and Eritrea agreed to the OAU initiative proposed last November in Ouagadougou, which calls for demilitarisation of the border region, the cessation of hostilities and demarcation of the frontier. However, they disagree on the details.
Matters remain difficult.
Egyptian officials asserted this week that Cairo was not playing a mediating role in the dispute, but that its efforts are part of the OAU initiative. Egypt is trying to bridge the gap between the Eritrean and Ethiopian leaderships by convincing both sides to observe the cease-fire and come to the negotiating table. Moussa said that the continued military operations by the two sides are overshadowing the peace efforts. Moussa affirmed that Mubarak's letters to the leaders of the two countries last week were within the African effort. As Eritrea's Afwerki arrived in Cairo from Libya last Saturday for talks with Mubarak, Ethiopian jets bombed his country's Red Sea port of Mussawa and other targets on the disputed border.