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Secretary-General proposes 4,200-strong peacekeeping force for Ethiopia and Eritrea
10 August -- Secretary-General Kofi Annan today proposed that the recently established United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) be comprised of a 4,200-strong force which will monitor the ceasefire between the two countries. 

Mr. Annan also proposed that the mission monitor the redeployment of Ethiopian forces to the positions they had held on 6 May, 1998, as well as the position of Eritrean forces, which are to remain 25 kilometres away from the redeployed Ethiopian forces. In addition, he recommends that the mission be charged with monitoring the temporary security zone and providing technical assistance for mine clearance.

 "Given the difficult terrain and weather conditions, the significant length of the temporary security zone from East to West and the requirement that the parties be confident that the area is effectively monitored, a combination of military observers and formed troops would be required to carry out the mission's tasks," the Secretary-General writes in a report released today which spells out a concept of operations for the expanded force.

 Late last month, the Security Council authorized the establishment of UNMEE with up to 100 military observers along with the necessary civilian support staff. It also requested the Secretary-General to continue planning for a peacekeeping operation. In his new report, Mr. Annan sets out UNMEE's political, military, public information, mine action and administrative components.

 According to the report, the Mission would be deployed in three phases. The first phase, involving liaison officers in each capital, is currently under way, with UN officials already on the ground in Addis Ababa and Asmara. During the second phase, the 100 authorized military observers would be deployed to carry out various tasks, including preparations for the UN peacekeeping operation.

 "I would like to assure the Governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea that UNMEE and the entire United Nations family in the two countries will make every effort to assist them," the Secretary-General writes. "However, in the end it is only the parties themselves who can bring lasting peace to their countries."

 The Secretary-General's report is scheduled for discussion by the Security Council tomorrow.

 Meanwhile, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said today that more than 21,000 Eritrean refugees had returned home from three camps in eastern Sudan. The movement has been particularly heavy from the Shagarab camp, about 70 kilometres from the border, where more than 12,000 of some 17,000 refugees who had registered returned with UNHCR assistance.