You're On Your Own Eritrea and Ethiopia: UN Peacekeepers to Depart

War is the likely outcome of the long standing border dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia, now that the UN peacekeeping mission has committed to withdrawal. The UN mission was disabled after Eritrea began restricting access to the border. The UN Security council voted unanimously today to end the peacekeeping mission between the two countries. Tomorrow, the end of the mission will be official.

This is an unfortunate outcome to a situation that has been brewing and spewing forth for the last 15 years since Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia. The declaration of independence was interpreted by some as a colonial constructed identity crisis for Eritreans. Prior to Italian occupation of Abyssinia (now Ethiopia and Eritrea) preceding the Second World War, there was not a true Eritrean identity. It is said that the colonial government somehow managed to construct the Eritrean identity, as was the case of ethnic identities in many colonized areas of Africa. 

Regardless of the causes of the split, it severely crippled Ethiopia as it left the country landlocked. And as anyone who has ever taken a class on international economics and economic development knows, a lack of access to the seas translates into a severe handicap for a nation's economy. Perhaps this explains Ethiopia's perpetually stagnant economic performance and lack of development.

 It would be preferable for the mission to maintain the boundary, but it seems that this is no longer possible due  to the lack of cooperation from both sides. Gun shots have already been fired. The only question left is when will the war begin? Read the the AP article on CNN's site.