Archrivals Ethiopia and Eritrea both claimed wrongdoing by the other after an international panel formed to resolve disputes between them said that Eritrea violated international law when it invaded the north of Ethiopia in May 1998.
"Given the absence of an armed conflict attack against Eritrea, the attack that began on May 12 cannot be justified as lawful self-defense under the UN Charter," the Eritrea Ethiopia Claims Commission (EECC) ruled on December 21.
The commission, a part of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague, also said that Eritrea was liable to pay an as-yet undetermined amount of reparation of the damages caused as a result, but it also placed responsibility in Ethiopian hands.
The May 1998 attack by Eritrea sparked a bloody border war between the two Horn of Africa neighbors that lasted four years and left some 80,000 people dead.
Amid growing fears of a new border conflict and anger over Eritrea's expulsion of North American and European peacekeepers with the UN mission that monitors the frontier, Ethiopia said on Wednesday that the commission's main ruling proved Eritrean perfidy.
"These awards are of monumental significance in exposing Eritrea as the aggressor and the belligerent nature of the regime in the current impasse in the peace process," Ethiopia's foreign ministry said.
Eritrea had argued that the attack on Badme - which remains at the center of the tensions because Addis Ababa has rejected a binding 2002 border demarcation that awards it to Asmara - was self defense, since the town and others in the remote region are inside its territory according to disputed colonial-era maps.
The commission rejected that argument and also held Eritrea liable for damages caused by unlawful killings of civilians, looting and property destruction in the border region during the conflict.
All these decisions were trumpeted by the Ethiopian authorities while Asmara chose to ignore the commission's main finding that it acted unlawfully in starting the 1998-2002 conflict. Instead it focused on several minor decisions awarding reparations to Eritrea for Ethiopian mistreatment of civilians, property damage and violations of diplomatic protocol.
"Ethiopia is liable for multiple violations of international law," the Eritrean ministry said in a statement.
The rulings of the EECC were released amid rising fears of a resumption in hostilities, with the United Nations reporting troop movements on both sides of the border, which it says is "tense and potentially volatile".
Eritrea has warned repeatedly that new conflict is looming because Ethiopia has refused to accept the Badme border demarcation that emanated from a 2000 peace deal and has angrily accused world powers of ignoring Addis Ababa's non-compliance.
In December 2000 Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a peace deal in Algiers creating a border commission to decide on the demarcation of the frontier and a claims commission to rule on claims and damages brought by both countries.
In recent months Asmara has demonstrated that displeasure by ramping up restrictions on the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, which monitors the 1,000 kilometer (620-mile) frontier, culminating with its expulsion of US, Canadian, European and Russian peacekeepers last week.
Eritrea 'violated international law' with 1998 attack on Ethiopia
TOOLBAR
To add a comment,
Please log in:
Don't have an account?
Register now to comment on stories and stay up to date on important events and issues in the Middle East with our newsletter.