Eritrea deploying 25000 troops into Ethiopia border – opposition
October 22, 2007 (MEKELLE, Ethiopia) — The opposition Eritrean People Democratic Front (EPDF) today said, Eritrea recently has deployed over 25000 troops toward Ethiopia border.
“Eritrean 19 and 13 military division forces fully armed are deployed at the temporary security zone where UN peace keepers are deployed.” The opposition group said.
According to the EPDF’s statement Eritrea has break into the buffer zone, Temporary Security Zone, (TSZ) between the Eritrea and Ethiopia forces; and heavily started massing its troop
Ethiopia and Eritrea forces are now in less than 25 kms away from each other and recent tensions could break out in to a full war any time.
The group further said the government of Eritrea has imposed curfew in Senafe town and around.
”The curfew imposed since last week and which the group said lasts from dusk to down aimed to control its fleeing citizens to Ethiopia in the cover of darkness.” The group added.
International observers say Eritrea violated the Alger agreement by sending troops to the demilitarized zone. Also the UN urged Eritrea to remove the restrictions placed by Eritrea upon UN mission forces between the two countries.
At the end of October 2005, Eritrea ordered the U.N. mission in Eritrea to “confine its land vehicle movements to the main roads” in the 25-kilometer wide demilitarized buffer zone.
The move was seen as a pressure from Eritrea intending to force the international community into taking action against Ethiopia, which has refused to accept an international ruling on the border made in 2002.
In 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea ended a 2 1/2-year border war that killed 70,000 people and cost two of the poorest countries in the world an estimated $1 million a day each.
(ST)
Observer
Ethiopia Continues to Defy Legal Decision
Given that this press release is coming from the headquarter of the TPLF, the party that is ruling Ethiopia, its grossly distorted assertions aren’t surprising.
Nonetheless, some important fact regarding this matter must be pointed out for the benefit of less informed readers.
First, the so-called Temporary Security Zone is supposed to have been just that: Temporary. However, the Ethiopian regime has reneged on the Algiers Peace Agreement it signed and promised to honor.
Second, according to the Algiers Peace Agreement, signed in December 2000, the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia was supposed to be demarcated within a year of the judicial decision. The judicial decision delimiting the boundary between Eritrea and Ethiopia was announced in April, 2002.
In other words, if the Ethiopian regime had respected the finality of the binding boundary ruling, the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia would have been demarcated and the Temporary Security Zone would not exist today.
Unfortunately, Ethiopia and Western nations, particularly the United States, continue to pour billions to prop up its economy, in the mistaken belief that delaying tactics and bad-faith will end up preventing the eventual demarcation of Eritrea’s southern border.
The current Ethiopian Regime, which was created and nurtured by Eritrean good intention, has betrayed Eritrea. Now, this same regime, having become drunk with power, believes it can have the final word this matter.
Like the two previous Ethiopian regimes would attempted to impose their diabolical schemes on Eritrean, the current Ethiopian regime will learn a bitter lesson that an arrogant approach toward Eritrea will only result in its own humiliation and eventual downfall.
This is as certain as the Sun rising on the East.