UN Secretary-General deplores “very brutal war”

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he “deeply deplores” the resumption of large-scale fighting between Eritrea and Ethiopia. In a statement issued on Friday, he urgently appealed to both countries to “cease hostilities immediately” and to return to the process of negotiation to find a peaceful solution. Emphasising that the fighting would worsen “the already grave humanitarian situation” in the two countries and the Horn of Africa, he said the differences between the two countries “cannot justify in any way the great loss in human lives they already have suffered and stand to suffer further”.

“It’s going to be a very brutal war”, Annan told reporters, saying thousands had died already. He said he had spoken to both leaders and would stay in touch with them.