What’s Unfolding in the Horn of Africa is a Significant Threat to International Security

The first indicator of creeping anarchy in the Horn of Africa today is the recent proliferation of territorial disputes and overall disregard for state boundaries. Eritrea, for example, has begun occupying parts of Tigray in northern Ethiopia and is issuing Eritrean ID cards to residents. Ethiopia is making territorial claims on Sudan’s Fashaga region and in response, Sudanese officials are raising claims on parts of Benishangul Gumuz in Ethiopia. The second trend is the increased prominence of foreign troops and mercenaries in domestic and regional conflicts. The third problem is the growing disregard for international humanitarian law. Over the last six months alone, Ethiopian and Eritrean forces have engaged in systemic ethnically cleansing, rape, starvation, and massacres on an unprecedented scale. Finally, today the Horn of Africa is also characterised by a sharp decline in multilateral diplomacy.

SOURCE: AL JAZEERA