AP News, January 25th, 2007
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned in a report released Wednesday that another war could break out between feuding neighbors Ethiopia and Eritrea if progress is not urgently made on a stalled peace process.
Ban urged the Security Council to extend the U.N. peacekeeping mission monitoring a tense 620-mile-long buffer zone between the countries for another six months. Given the precarious security situation in neighboring Somalia, if fighting resumes it could destabilize the entire region, he said.
"The potential for this situation to deteriorate further or even to lead to renewed hostilities is real, especially if it is allowed to continue indefinitely," Ban said in the report.
The Security Council has until the end of the month to decide whether to extend the mandate of the 2,300-strong force monitoring the buffer zone under a December 2000 peace agreement that ended a 2 1/2-year border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, who holds the council presidency this month, said last week many council members favor reducing the mission to 1,700 soldiers. He said there was "considerable frustration" at the lack of progress in establishing a border between the countries.
A Russian diplomat said Wednesday the mission's six-month extension would likely be adopted, but discussions were still taking place on the force's size. The diplomat spoke on condition of anonymity because the talks were ongoing.
The U.N. missions for Eritrea and Ethiopia did not return calls seeking comment.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 following a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the countries was never officially demarcated. Ties have remained strained since the 2000 truce.
There were fears last year that Somalia could become a proxy battleground for the two countries. In December, Ethiopia sent troops to back the government in its fight against an Islamic movement supported by Eritrea. The U.N. said Eritrea had soldiers in Somalia, but the country denied it.
Under the 2000 cease-fire, both sides agreed to accept an international boundary commission's ruling on the border dispute. But Ethiopia has refused to accept the decision which awarded the key town of Badme to Eritrea.
In his report, the secretary-general urged Ethiopia to comply with the commission's decision, but also called on Eritrea to pull back the hundreds of troops and heavy military equipment it has near the frontier.
In October, Eritrea moved 2,000 troops, tanks, artillery and air defense systems into the buffer zone in what the Security Council called a major violation of the cease-fire. Ethiopia deployed 21 artillery guns and several mortars in the zone around the same time, the report said.
In the last two months, hundreds of Eritrean soldiers have been seen moving in the buffer zone, and skirmishes have broken out between both sides.
The U.N. has also complained that Eritrea has expelled and arrested its staff and imposed restrictions on patrols of the border area. Ban's report said five U.N. staff members were being held by Eritrea earlier this month.
In addition, Eritrea has expelled two more international aid organizations in recent weeks, leaving only 10 groups currently working in the country, the report said. Ban warned the humanitarian situation in Eritrea was worsening, with malnutrition rates "exceeding emergency levels" in some regions.
