evidence: The fighting is the first since Djibouti accused Eritrean forces of digging trenches on both sides of the border, infringing several hundred metres on to Djiboutian territory, an accusation Asmara has vehemently denied. [...] In April 1996 they almost went to war after a Djibouti official accused Eritrea of shelling the town of Ras Doumeira. And in 1999, Eritrea accused Djibouti of siding with Asmara’s rival Ethiopia, while Djibouti accused its neighbour of supporting Djiboutian rebels and having designs on the Ras Doumeira region.