Libya seeks Eritrea-Ethiopia conflict resolution

The Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddaffi, has sent a special envoy to Ethiopia to call for Ethiopian forces to withdraw from Eritrean territory.

The official Libyan news agency JANA said Mr Gaddaffi denounced what he described as Ethiopia's invasion of Eritrea, and had discussed the conflict in a telephone conversation with the Algerian President, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, who is the acting head of the Organisation for African Unity OAU.

The news agency said Mr Gaddaffi warned that the invasion of an independent state recognised by the United Nations is, as he put it, a dangerous precedent. Pakistan has also expressed its deep concern over the actions of the Ethiopian forces and called on the United Nations to arrange an immediate ceasefire and a withdrawal of Ethiopian troops.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service