Eritrea Djibouti Border

In a meeting yesterday of the 15-nation U.N. Security Council, members authorized Claude Heller, Mexico's ambassador to the United Nations and the council chair for April, to meet the permanent representative for Eritrea to express the council's concern that Eritrea has refused to withdraw troops from their border with Djibouti.

The council made the demand in January. The two nations in June after Djibouti accused Eritrea of moving troops across the border. A dozen Djiboutian soldiers were killed in the fighting. Eritrea denies the accusations.

Djibouti has withdrawn its troops from the area but Eritrea insists that its troops will remain on their side of the border, which has been disputed by the two countries for many years. Conflicts over the disputed line erupted twice in the last 30 years.