Ethiopia follows border order, but not Eritrea – UN
Jan 7, 2005 (ASMARA) — Ethiopia has complied with a U.N. demand to withdraw troops from its tense border with Eritrea, but Eritrea has not lifted restrictions on peacekeepers as ordered, a United Nations report says.
The report by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan on the showdown made no reference to sanctions, threatened by a November Security Council resolution if the Horn of Africa neighbours did not draw down troops at the frontier by Dec. 24.
“On Dec. 23, UNMEE confirmed that Ethiopia had completed the planned withdrawal of eight of its divisions from the forward positions,” the report said, referring to the U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
“Most of the Ethiopian forces presently deployed in the border area appear to have a defensive posture,” the report released late on Friday said.
Eritrea had not lifted its restrictions on U.N. peacekeepers, including a ban on helicopter patrols and curtailing of ground movements, it said.
“The imposition of the restrictions on the freedom of movement of UNMEE personnel has continued,” the report said.
The Security Council also threatened sanctions if they were not lifted.
But the mission said there was no evidence of tanks, artillery or large-scale troop concentrations inside the buffer zone.
Eritrean troops were stationed at 15 to 17 locations inside the zone, with 80 to 150 soldiers at each position, it said.
Tension has risen in the Horn of Africa after Ethiopia failed to accept a legally binding ruling that awarded Eritrea a disputed town.
Eritrea has grown angrier by the day at the United Nations and the international community for not forcing Ethiopia to accept the decision, which both agreed to follow under a pact to end their 1998-2000 border war which killed 70,000.
Diplomats say Eritrea’s ban and later expulsion of U.N. personnel from the United States, Canada and Europe stem from frustration the border has not yet been marked.
The U.N. Security Council is expected to discuss the situation on Monday.
(Reuters)