Posted on 05/24/2008 5:26:44 PM PDT by decimon
ON THE DJIBOUTIAN-ERITREAN BORDER — The distance between the rival armies is shorter than the barrel of a gun. Hundreds of opposing troops are lined up on the border, staring each other down, from just inches away.
On one side are the Djiboutians, a relatively well-equipped African military with combat boots, CamelBak strap-on water bottles and the occasional buttery croissant in the field.
On the other side are skinny Eritrean soldiers, covered in dust and wearing plastic sandals, camped out in thatch-roofed huts that look like fortified tropical bungalows.
< >
“No pictures, no pictures,” one Eritrean soldier yelled. When asked what he and his men were doing here, he just shook his head, “No English.”
< >
Djibouti, a country of about 700,000 people, is backed up by France and the United States, both of which have big military bases here.
< >
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Shake Djibouti.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.