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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Asmara denies troops moved to border

ADDIS ABABA/NAIROBI, 27 November 2003 (IRIN) - The UN on Thursday said Eritrean troops had been moved to the western border region with Ethiopia, outside the demilitarised Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) which separates the two countries.

Gail Bindley Taylor Sainte, spokeswoman for the UN Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE), however said they were "not concerned at this time" by the alleged troop movement.

“UNMEE has been given the explanation that the extra EDF [Eritrean Defence Forces] troops are there for harvesting, agricultural and construction purposes," she told a weekly press briefing linking Asmara and Addis Ababa.

However, the Eritrean government denied that troops had been moved to the area.

"We are concentrating all our efforts on national development," acting Information Minister Ali Abdu Ahmed told IRIN. He stressed that preparations underway for regional elections were one of the government's top priorities.

Sainte said the situation was “militarily stable” but she acknowledged there was some "political tension".

“Normally we say it is calm. We don’t think it is calm at the moment,” she stated.

She said that political tension “can feed into military tension”, adding that UNMEE was closely monitoring the situation. “If we feel the need to step up our reconnaissance we will,” she said.

Ali Abdu also told IRIN that now the border ruling had been delivered, there was no longer any Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). There had been several border incidents over the last two weeks, he stated, with Ethiopians allegedly "crossing into Eritrea". He reiterated that pressure should be put on Ethiopia to implement border demarcation.

Ethiopia is unhappy over elements of the ruling and has called for dialogue to try and resolve the impasse.

According to Sainte, Ethiopian militia fired three warning shots near Indian peacekeepers during a mix-up as they brought displaced people across the border.

“It was not an attack, it was not an incident, they were warning shots, that’s all,” she said.

The shooting happened in the Aromo area, where tensions have been high because of numerous cases of cattle rustling.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict

[ENDS]

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