ABSTRACT
Many factors make the Horn of Africa potentially an ideal area for conflicts. Its population is extremely heterogeneous, both ethnically and culturally. The Christian kingdom of Ethiopia marks the southern border of the Arab world. She is nearly surrounded by Muslim countries and has her non-Christian population in the majority. The relatively rich plateau was always the target of incursions by pastoralists who inhabit the semi-circle of desert to the east and to the south. At present, Ethiopia controls a vital part of the Red Sea coast, has grazing areas crucial to tribes living in the Somali Republic and is the source of the two rivers which provide most of the water for the limited agriculture of Somalia. She is also the source of more than 70% of the water of the Nile upon which depends the very existence of its northern neighbours and especially Egypt.
