Ban calls on Ethiopia and Eritrea "to exercise maximum restraint"

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on, here on Monday, Ethiopia and Eritrea to avoid any action that could escalate tensions between the Horn of Africa neighbors, following Ethiopia's attack on military bases in Eritrea. "The Secretary-General has urged both sides to exercise maximum restraint," Ban's spokesperson, Martin Nesirky, told reporters in a press briefing late Friday, according to UN news Centre. He added that Ban has called on Ethiopia and Eritrea "to resolve their differences through peaceful means and to avoid any action that could lead to an escalation of tensions". Despite an agreement to abide by the ruling of the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, tensions persist between the two countries, which fought a bloody border war between the period 1998 and 2000 resulting in a death toll of 80,000 from both sides. The UN Secretary-General urged both parties to respect each other's territorial integrity.