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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Monday 28 November 2005

ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Military officials trade accusations over border tension

ADDIS ABABA, 28 Nov 2005 (IRIN) - Ethiopia and Eritrea traded blame for the rising tensions along their shared border on Friday, but vowed not to ignite another war, the United Nations said on Saturday.

Military commanders from the two countries met in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, at UN-hosted talks amid growing concern that their border stalemate could lead to renewed conflict.

Maj-Gen Yohannes Gebremeskel of Ethiopia alleged that there were a large number of Eritrean soldiers inside the 25-km demilitarised zone that separates the two countries and is patrolled by UN peacekeepers.

He claimed the troops were able to enter the Temporary Security Zone because the restrictions placed on UN peacekeepers by Eritrea had reduced the monitoring capability of the blue berets.

Despite the accusations, however, Gebremeskel said his country favoured peace. "He reiterated Ethiopia's commitment to prevent another war and work with UNMEE towards a peaceful resolution of the conflict," said a statement issued by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) after the meeting.

Col Zecarias Ogbagaber of Eritrea blamed the tense security situation on Ethiopia's refusal to implement a border ruling that awards key territory to Eritrea.

He lamented what he called the international community's "lack of concern" over the stalemate, the statement said. Ogbababer maintained that Eritrea’s restrictions on UNMEE had been exaggerated and that Ethiopia's refusal to implement the border ruling was a greater violation.

"Col Ogbagaber also declared that Eritrea has no intention of mobilising the EDF [Eritrean Defence Force] and that there is no security threat to UNMEE," the statement added.

The closed-door talks were held two days after the UN Security Council threatened to impose sanctions against the two countries if they continued to engage in activities that aggravated the border standoff.

In his closing statement, UNMEE Force Commander Maj-Gen Rajender Singh said: "We are passing through very defining moments. It is very important during these moments that we uphold the values that both governments have committed themselves to."

UNMEE said that restrictions by local Eritrean officials on the 3,200 peacekeepers monitoring the 25-km wide buffer zone and surrounding areas - including a ban on helicopter flights, all night patrols and some vehicle and troop patrols - had compromised their monitoring capacity.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but the boundary between the two nations was never formally demarcated. A border conflict from 1998-2000 killed tens of thousands of people and cost both countries an estimated US $1 million a day.

[ENDS]

This material comes to you via IRIN, a UN humanitarian information unit, but May not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations or its agencies. If you re-print, copy, archive or re-post this item, please retain this credit and disclaimer. Quotations or extracts should include attribution to the original sources. All materials copyright © UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs 2005