Over 150 Ethiopian troops defect to rival Eritrea – UN

Aug 10, 2006 (ADDIS ABABA) — More than 150 Ethiopian troops have deserted, following an army general who defected to Eritrea as lingering tensions between the two countries simmered over their disputed border, a U.N. official said Thursday.

The troops deserted early Tuesday under cover of darkness, according to a U.N. peacekeeping official.

“We do not know the reasons for the defections but this appears to be the first mass defection of Ethiopian troops we have seen,” said the official, who is based in Addis Ababa with the U.N.’s Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Ethiopia announced the defection of Brig. Gen. Kemal Geltu, who was the commander of the 18th army division, on state television Tuesday but didn’t say other troops were involved. Ethiopia defense officials weren’t immediately available for further comment Thursday.

Eritrea’s information ministry released a statement confirming the desertions and linking them to Ethiopian unrest following last year’s disputed elections that returned the ruling party to power for another five years.

According to the statement on an Eritrean government Web site, hundreds of soldiers arrived Wednesday carrying “communication equipment and military hardware.”

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but their border was never settled. They fought a 2 1/2-year war that ended in December 2000 when both countries signed a peace deal, allowing an independent commission to determine their border.

Ethiopia refused to implement the international commission’s 2002 ruling. Eritrea has accused the international community of shirking its responsibility to ensure the ruling is obeyed. The border, while still not demarcated, has been mostly peaceful since the 2000 truce.

Both countries have tens of thousands of troops dug in on each side of the 1,000 kilometer frontier. A 25-kilometer-wide buffer zone that separates the two armies is patrolled by U.N. peacekeepers.

(ST/AP)