ADDIS ABABA, June 17 (Reuters) - The African Union urged Djibouti and Eritrea to remain calm and exercise restraint on Saturday after Djibouti accused its neighbour of occupying disputed territory along their border following the withdrawal of Qatari peacekeepers. Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssef said on Friday that his country's army was "on alert" and accused Eritrea of "moving its forces" into the Doumeira region where Qatari peacekeepers had been stationed since 2010 as a buffer between the two nations' armies. Doha denies all claims.Qatar informed the government of Djibouti that it has withdrawn all its troopsBoth Djibouti and Eritrea have good relations with Qatar's leading opponents Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, and have taken their side in the Gulf split.Djibouti downgraded ties with Qatar last week, saying it was acting in "solidarity with the international coalition combating terrorism and extremist violence, as well as with the Gulf and Arab countries".Eritrea's Information Ministry said on Monday the decision by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt to sever ties was a move "in the right direction".Djibouti also cut ties with Iran, Saudi's regional rival, over the January 2016 storming of the Saudi embassy in Tehran by crowds incensed by Riyadh's execution of the Shia cleric Nimr al-Nimr The Qatari ministry statement said the kingdom had been an "impartial diplomatic mediator" in the dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea since 2010, which ended two years of border clashes.The statement said it would "continue to be a major player in the international community".Fighting over the un-demarcated area in the Red Sea, known as Doumeira, killed 35 people and left dozens of others wounded.The leaders of Eritrea and Djibouti signed a pact in Doha in 2010, under the auspices of Qatar's then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, to pursue a negotiated settlement.Reports in 2010 stated that Qatar had sent an estimated 700 soldiers to the border to oversee the agreement. On Friday, Djibouti's Foreign Minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf said Eritrean troops had seized Dumeira Mountain and Dumeira Island, areas the neighbours contest, and his country's military was on alert.
Djiboutian foreign minister Mahamoud Ali Youssouf accuses Eritrea of occupying the disputed Doumeira Islands and Ras Doumeira peninsula after Qatari peacekeepers withdrew from the area.