NEW YORK -- The arms embargo on Eritrea and Ethiopia just imposed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council is a much needed measure that brings hope for an end to an irrational conflict between the two neighboring countries. The U.S.-initiated measure, later co-sponsored by Britain and the Netherlands, bars the sale or supply of weapons to both countries, and prohibits technical military assistance until they reach a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
Unless both countries immediately stop the fighting, not only arms sales but also development assistance should cease to convince the warring fractions to come to their senses and stop the suffering of their countries' hapless and powerless citizens.
The dispute between both countries is reportedly over a 1000-km frontier, which was never clearly marked when Eritrea seceded from Ethiopia in 1993. The real reasons, however, are probably economic. The cost of the war for both of them, however, far exceeds what they may gain by a victory that can only be transitory.