HORN OF AFRICA: IRIN Update
ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Peace mission prepares for next phase
The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has completed the second
phase of its deployment, with some 100 UN military observers now on the
ground in Ethiopia and Eritrea, and preparations being made for the final
phase deployment of up to 4,200 military personnel in the two countries,
according to a UN spokesman in New York. In the coming weeks, military
specialists - wearing UN patches and blue berets - would be arriving in
Ethiopia and Eritrea to prepare the ground for the greater body of troops
and "conduct detailed reconnaissance in those areas where their national
contingents are likely to be deployed as members of the peacekeeping
force," he said.
The reconnaissance teams from the Netherlands, Canada, Jordan, Kenya,
Denmark and Italy would include experts in logistics, operations,
communications and aviation, according to the UN. In assessing possible
deployment locations, they would look into the availability of water,
communication facilities, and safe transportation access - free of
landmine danger - for road vehicles and aircraft. The UN Security Council
established UNMEE in July to monitor a temporary security zone between
Ethiopia and Eritrea, the cessation of hostilities and the repositioning
of troops on both sides under the terms of an OAU-brokered peace
agreement. Arriving in Asmara over the weekend, UNMEE Force Commander
Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert pledged to build on what has been accomplished so
far in the quest for peace. "All are committed to the task ahead and ready
to work with the people and governments of Ethiopia and Eritrea to bring
about a lasting peace," Cammaert said.
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