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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Troops not involved in shooting incident, says Ethiopian government

ADDIS ABABA, 6 November 2003 (IRIN) - The Ethiopian government says its troops were not involved in a "shooting incident" on its border with Eritrea.

In a two-page statement released by the Ministry of Information to journalists late on Wednesday, the government said its troops were not involved in any border attacks. "Ethiopia has not deployed a single soldier in Eritrea and has no intention of doing so in the future," the statement said. "Ethiopia firmly remains loyal to the peaceful settlement of the case and never resorts to any violent means," it added.

The statement came after the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) reported a "firing incident" on Saturday between Eritrean militia and armed uniformed men in the demilitarised temporary security zone (TSZ) between the two countries. One Eritrean militiaman was reportedly killed.

UNMEE had said in a statement on Tuesday that it was investigating reports by the commander of the Eritrean militia force in the TSZ that the men who opened fire were Ethiopian troops. "UNMEE deeply deplores any such activity in the TSZ which has the potential of destabilising the peace process," the commander of the UN troops said.

Under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea in June 2000, which followed a two-year war, the TSZ is strictly off limits to Ethiopian and Eritrean armed forces. Eritrean militia are allowed to police the 25-km-wide TSZ, which is patrolled by a 4,200-strong Blue Helmet peacekeeping force.

In its statement, the Ethiopian government said: "Members of the Ethiopian defence forces, in strict observance of the order given to them, are only engaged in their routine daily activities within their territory. Thus, UNMEE has no ground whatsoever to implicate the Ethiopian defence forces in the incident that allegedly took place within Eritrea. This principled position has been one of the central points of the recent report submitted by Prime Minister Meles Zenawi to the parliament and unanimously endorsed."

Tensions have been mounting between the two countries over their disputed 1,000-km border, which sparked the 1998-2000 war. Both Ethiopia and Eritrea have warned of a risk of renewed conflict over the dispute.

The Ethiopian statement said: "Consistent with its principled position, Ethiopia is working in collaboration with the international community to resolve the dispute by means of dialogue and a peaceful way."

"It is very unfair for UNMEE... to try to indirectly implicate Ethiopia as a suspect of the incident," it added.

Theme(s): (IRIN) Conflict

[ENDS]

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