What is the tension behind Eritrea and Djibouti
Main Issue: On April 16, 2008. Djibouti reported that the Eritrean armed forces penetrated into Djibouti and dug trenches on both sides of the border, which is one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. So, the AU( African Union) sent a fact-finding mission which was backed by the UN Security Council, wherein on June 19, the 2 countries were urged to resolve peacefully. The tension got tenser when Qatar withdrawed its peacekeeping forces from the borders, those peacekeepers were placed since 2010 in Dumeria Mountain and Dumeria Island which were both claimed by Djibouti and Eritrea.
When the 2 countries clashed forces, they accepted Qatar’s offer of mediation and deployment of peace keepers, but the withdrawal of the Qatari peacekeepers appears to be related to the country's current diplomatic dispute with some of its Gulf neighbours, which over recent weeks have imposed a blockade.
On 16 June, Djibouti accused Eritrea of sending its troops into the disputed territory, following the withdrawal of the Qatari peacekeepers, a move that Doha had confirmed two days earlier, though without giving any reason.
Both Djibouti and Eritrea have sided with Saudi Arabia in its dispute with Qatar. - The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry on 18 June called on its two neighbours to refrain from "escalating tensions" and instead "resolve differences through peaceful means".
Impact:
Aside from the adverse security and humanitarian effects on the two states themselves, any military conflict between Eritrea and Djibouti has the risk of inflaming the much more serious and longer running border row between Eritrea and Ethiopia. Ethiopia, which fought a border war with Eritrea in 1998-2000, enjoys good relations with Djibouti. The two countries have a defence alliance.