Ethiopia says worried by UN pullout along Eritrean border

Oct 18, 2005 (ADDIS ABABA) — Ethiopia is concerned about the U.N. pullout from some bases along the tense border with Eritrea, saying Tuesday that the peacekeepers help ensure war doesn’t break out again.

After saying its work had been hampered by new restrictions imposed by Eritrea, the U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea said Monday it was pulling peacekeepers from 18 of 40 posts in the buffer zone and strengthening operations at other positions.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan later warned Eritrea that if it continues to impede peacekeeping operations the U.N. may pull its troops out of the buffer zone.

The 3,300 U.N. peacekeepers have patrolled the border since a two-and-a-half-year Eritrea-Ethiopia border war ended in 2000.

Eritrea informed the U.N. that it was banning helicopter flights by U.N. peacekeepers in its airspace in the buffer zone starting Oct. 5. It also banned U.N. patrol vehicles from operating at night on its side of the 1,000-kilometer Temporary Security Zone. The U.N. said the new restrictions made it impossible to guarantee there was no renewed military buildup along the border separating the two armies.

“The presence of the U.N peacekeepers is very important for Ethiopia as they act as a tripwire in case of any potential attack,” Information Minister Berhan Hailu said in an interview Tuesday.

The withdrawal of peacekeepers from isolated posts in Eritrea’s side of the border “is a source of concern for us and we will be paying close attention,” he said.

The U.N. Security Council warned Ethiopia and Eritrea on Oct. 4 against re-igniting war and urged Eritrea to reverse its ban on helicopter flights.

Saturday, Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said he was ready to hold direct talks with Eritrea’s president or other officials on resolving the countries’ long-running border dispute.

Eritrea insists that a decision by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission – part of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague – be implemented before any talks with Ethiopia.

Ethiopia has refused to accept the commission’s decision, objecting to the awarding of the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea.

(AP)