DATE=5/13/2000
TYPE=CORRESPONDENT REPORT
TITLE=ETHIOPIA/ERITREA (L)
NUMBER=2-262321
BYLINE=SCOTT STEARNS
DATELINE=ADDIS ABABA
CONTENT=
VOICED AT:
INTRO: Heavy fighting continues in the border war
between Ethiopia and Eritrea. As V-O-A's Scott
Stearns reports, Ethiopia launched a fresh round of
attacks Friday across three fronts.
TEXT: Ethiopia and Eritrea both say the battle
continues. Ethiopia says most of the fighting is
concentrated on the western front near Sudan where
Ethiopian troops backed by tanks and heavy artillery
are fighting across the Mereb River inside Eritrea.
There has been a sporadic exchange of heavy artillery
on the central front around the town of Zalambesa.
The eastern front near Djibouti appears quiet.
The fighting comes just days after a United Nations
mission to the region failed to agree on a new round
of peace talks. U-S Ambassador Richard Holbrooke led
a delegation of U-N ambassadors shuttling between
Addis Ababa and Asmara without getting either side to
recommit to a peace plan drawn up by the Organization
of African Unity (O-A-U).
That plan has so far shown little progress. The
latest round of peace talks in Algeria broke down over
many of the same issues that have divided these former
allies for two years. Part of the problem is that
Ethiopia and Eritrea appear to have decidedly
different views about the nature of the conflict.
Ethiopia accuses Eritrea of invading its territory, so
Ethiopia wants local Ethiopian administration restored
in disrupted areas before talks of a cease-fire.
Eritrea says the land in question is rightfully
Eritrean, so there can be no question of restoring any
local authority until the issue of ownership is
decided by an international border commission.
That commission is provided for under the O-A-U plan
along with the deployment of neutral foreign observers
to monitor disputed areas during a simultaneous
withdrawal of troops. But the O-A-U plan has never
gotten off the ground (EDS: succeeded), and there are
increasing calls, especially from Eritrea, for the
United Nations to take a more active role.
The United Nations has told both sides to stop
fighting, but that resolution is expected to have
little effect on the war.
Ethiopia says it has waited long enough for the peace
process to show results. Eritrea says it still wants
to talk peace but Ethiopia's attack makes that more
difficult. (SIGNED)
NEB/SS/DW/JP
13-May-2000 08:50 AM EDT (13-May-2000 1250 UTC)
NNNN
Source: Voice of America
.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
|
Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list
|
|
|
