ERITREA-ETHIOPIA: Visiting UN officials delay departure from Asmara
14 Dec 2005 13:59:23 GMT
Source: IRINADDIS ABABA, 14 December (IRIN) - A United Nations team that is visiting Ethiopia and Eritrea to review a tense standoff between the two neighbours extended its stay in the Eritrean capital of Asmara on Wednesday after failing for two days to meet authorities there.A UN spokeswoman said the team, which includes the Under-Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno and UN military adviser Gen Randir Kumar Mehta, were still waiting to hear from Eritrean authorities. "The mission will extend the visit in the hope of meeting with Eritrean officials," Gail Bindley-Taylor-Sainte said from Asmara. "As of now [Wednesday morning] there has been no word from the Eritreans." She did not say how much longer the officials would stay in the country."The Security Council is to meet later today to discuss what to do about the UNMEE [UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea] situation," Sainte added.The UN team flew to Eritrea from Ethiopia on Monday on a three-day mission to try and ease renewed tension over the countries' border dispute and to discuss a recent Eritrean decision to expel some UN peacekeepers from its territory.Before leaving Ethiopia, Guehenno warned that a miscalculation could spark off conflict in the region. "Nobody should be complacent in the present situation," he told reporters after meeting Prime Minister Meles Zenawi. "There is always a risk of war by miscalculation," he added. "I think both countries have stressed that they don't want to go to war. That is not quite good enough. There are concrete actions that need to be taken."Early this week, Ethiopia and Eritrea sharply condemned each other over the border stalemate. Eritrea also sharply criticised UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for "unwarranted political meddling" in the situation in the Horn of Africa. A statement issued by the foreign ministry in Asmara on Monday described news reports of alleged new troop reinforcements and withdrawals by Ethiopia, as "deceitful and rather theatrical".In the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi accused Eritrea of "war mongering". Meles said that to comply with a recent UN Security Council demand, Ethiopia would pull back most of its troops from the border, but it would retain a "proportional force" at the frontier.The Council had passed a resolution on 23 November threatening sanctions against Eritrea and Ethiopia unless the two nations reversed their troop build-up. Diplomats estimate that in all, Ethiopia has around 130,000 troops on the border, while Eritrea may have as many as 250,000.UN peacekeeping troops have patrolled a Temporary Security Zone between the countries since 2002. In October, Eritrea banned helicopter flights by the peacekeepers within its airspace and stopped UN vehicles from patrolling at night, prompting the UN to vacate 18 of its 40 posts.On 6 December, Eritrea announced that 180 UN peacekeepers from western nations had to leave the country within 10 days.It was not clear whether the expelled peacekeepers would leave Eritrea on Wednesday. Sainte said it had "created a crisis". In a parliamentary address on Tuesday, Meles said, "The Eritrean government is making efforts to worsen the situation around the border. If the Eritrean government believes that it can ensure victory, there is no doubt it will do what it can to wage a war."The UN says Ethiopia has moved tanks, missiles and about 50,000 extra troops to its border with Eritrea since December 2004.More than 70,000 frontline troops are estimated to have been killed during the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea from 1998-2000.
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