Qatar said, on Wednesday, it had withdrawn 450 of its peacekeepers from the border area between Eritrea and Djibouti, suspending its role as a mediator between the two Horn of Africa countries.
Qatar’s official news agency QNA, citing a source at the Foreign Ministry, reported that the Gulf emirate had informed Djibouti of the decision.
It did not give an explanation.
The move comes days after Eritrea cut off diplomatic ties with Qatar, following the example of Gulf countries that accused Doha of supporting terrorism, a charge that Doha has repeatedly denied.
“The state of Qatar has been an impartial diplomatic mediator in resolving crises and disputes between brotherly and friendly countries and will continue to be a major player in the international community,” the unnamed source at the Qatari Foreign Ministry said.
Earlier Wednesday, Araya Desta, Eritrea’s ambassador to the African Union and the UN Economic Commission for Africa, confirmed that Eritrea had broken off diplomatic relations with Qatar.
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as well as a number of African countries, have also severed ties and transportation with Qatar, isolating the tiny energy-rich country.
Qatar arbitrated a 2010 agreement between Eritrea and Djibouti following a 2008 territorial dispute.
“We don’t want any confrontation with Djibouti. We don’t want to take any of Djibouti’s land,” Desta told dpa.
Nasredin Ali, from the Ethiopian-based Eritrean opposition group Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization, said Eritrean troops have now taken control of a mountainous border crossing area that Qatar had patrolled since 2008.
“The Qatari troops are now set to leave the country through the port of Djibouti,” Ali told dpa, putting the number of troops at 450. (NAN)