evidence: Members of the Security Council this afternoon urged the withdrawal of Eritrean and Djiboutian troops from a disputed area in Ras Doumeira on the Red Sea coast and called for dialogue between the two Horn of African countries to avert further escalation of the border crisis that had flared this month. [...] According to local Somali radio, Eritrea had reportedly deployed heavy military equipment in Ras Doumeira, north-east of Obock. Another source reported a reinforcement of Eritrean troops near the town of Daddato, located north-west of Obock. That might indicate tension, both towards the north-west and north-east of Djibouti. A Somali newspaper had reported that an Eritrean gunboat had been sunk after being hit by a missile on 15 June. It was not known whether the missile had been fired by a French warship or the Djibouti navy. Press and other sources reported that Djibouti forces had regrouped at the border, while others had said they had retreated out of range of Eritrean mortars. Ethiopian troops were also reported to be at the border. [...] YAHYA MAHMASSANI, Permanent Observer of the League of Arab States, said that the Government of Djibouti had been informing the League, starting in February, of a gradual amassing of Eritrean troops along the border between the two countries. It had also reported incursions on the Djibouti side in an area overlooking the Red Sea. In response, the League had sent a fact-finding mission to the Ras Doumeira region in May, where it had met with officials from Djibouti. Meetings had also been sought with Eritrean officials, but there had been no response.