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UNITED NATIONS: The Security Council voted Tuesday to reduce the peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea from 2,300 troops to 1,700, expressing disappointment in the stalled process to draw the border between the feuding Horn of Africa neighbors.
The 15-member council unanimously approved extending the mission in the tense 620-mile (998-kilometer)-long buffer zone for another six months, as proposed last month by former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Last week, new U.N. chief Ban Ki-Moon also urged the council to extend the mission, warning resumed fighting between the two countries could destabilize the entire region, giving the precarious security situation in neighboring Somalia. The resolution said council "regrets the lack of progress on demarcation." Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the countries was never officially demarcated. Ties have remained strained since a 2000 truce. Under the cease-fire, both sides agreed to accept an international boundary commission's ruling on the border dispute. But Ethiopia has refused to accept the decision, which awarded the key town of Badme to Eritrea. The council demanded that "Ethiopia accept fully and without delay the final and binding decision" of the boundary commission. It said it would reconsider its decision about troop levels if there was any progress toward demarcation. The boundary commission has said that if the countries do not agree on a border by November, it will set "an official internationally recognized border" on its own, using coordinates, said Michael Hoare, second secretary of Britain's U.N mission. The Security Council also demanded that Eritrea "immediately withdraw its troops and equipment" from the security zone. In October, Eritrea moved 2,000 troops, tanks, artillery and air defense systems into the buffer zone in what the Security Council called a major violation of the cease-fire. Ethiopia deployed 21 artillery guns and several mortars in the zone around the same time, according to Annan's report last month. In the last two months, hundreds of Eritrean soldiers have been seen moving in the buffer zone, and skirmishes have broken out between both sides. The Security Council called on both countries to "show maximum restraint and refrain from any threat or use of force against each other." The Security Council also demanded that Eritrea lift all restrictions on the movement and operations of U.N. peacekeepers. The U.N. has complained that Eritrea has expelled and arrested its staff and imposed restrictions on patrols of the border area. In a report last week, Ban said five U.N. staff members were being held by Eritrea earlier this month. Eritrea has expelled two international aid organizations in recent weeks, leaving only 10 groups currently working in the country, the report said. Ban warned the humanitarian situation in Eritrea was worsening, with malnutrition rates "exceeding emergency levels" in some regions. The Ethiopian and Eritrean missions at the U.N. did not immediately return calls seeking comment. There were fears last year that Somalia could become a proxy battleground for the two countries. In December, Ethiopia sent troops to Somalia to back the interim government in its fight against an Islamic movement supported by Eritrea. The U.N. said Eritrea also had soldiers in Somalia, but the country denied it. ____ Associated Press Writer Paul Burkhardt contributed to this report. |
