Illegal Border Crossings Provide New Headache for
The problem of illegal border crossings between Ethiopia and Eritrea is adding to the woes of United Nations staff who are monitoring peace efforts between the two countries.
Ethiopian police sources revealed earlier this week that three Eritrean staffers of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Unmee) had driven to Addis Ababa from the Eritrean capital Asmara, using a stolen UN vehicle.
The three miraculously negotiated their way through landmines and other unexploded ordnances at the border, which were planted during the two-year Ethiopian-Eritrean war. The vehicle was later found abandoned near a downtown shopping centre with the batteries drained.
According to the police sources, two of the three UN employees were women who had been called up for their national service. However, the sources refused to reveal the whereabouts of the local staffers.
Compulsory military service in Eritrea was extended indefinitely in 1994 for men and women between the ages of 18 and 40, who must serve for 18 months. Those who evade national service could be jailed for three years.
According to the British-based human rights watchdog Amnesty International, hundreds of Eritreans who fear forced conscription have fled their country. The organisation also claims that female conscripts have been subjected to sexual abuse.
Unmee deputy spokesperson George Sommerwill told a video-linked press conference between the Ethiopian and Eritrean capitals that there would be an investigation into the illegal crossing.
“I had heard a report on that (the illegal crossing), and all I can say is that further inquiries are taking place,” he told reporters.
Earlier, Sommerwill said two Eritrean civilians crossed the southern boundary of the 25km-wide buffer area between the two states into neighbouring Ethiopia, through a checkpoint manned by peacekeepers.
Unmee has deployed 4 200 troops in the buffer area, referred to as the Temporary Security Zone or TSZ.
“The two civilians, confirmed to be mechanics working in Senafe (near the north of the TSZ) had stolen from a local garage a white Toyota pick-up belonging to the Eritrean police,” said Sommerwill.
“The vehicle crashed through an Eritrean police checkpoint and then the Unmee checkpoint,” he added.
Ethiopian police later removed the Eritreans and the stolen vehicle from the area. According to Unmee, the two mechanics are now in police custody in the northern Ethiopian city of Adigrat.
Last October, Unmee reported that one of its Eritrean staff stole a UN pick-up truck and crossed over into Ethiopia with an additional 11 people in the vehicle. A month earlier, there was an incident involving four Eritrean men who had stowed away in a UN peacekeeping vehicle that was crossing the border.
Prior to that, nine Eritreans had hidden in UN vehicles driven by soldiers who were on a routine troop-rotation exercise.
Between 1998 and 2000, Ethiopia and Eritrea came to blows over a border dispute. The number of dead and wounded in the conflict was estimated at 100 000, while about 600 000 civilians were displaced.
One of the issues at the heart of the dispute was control of the border town of Badme, currently administered by Ethiopia.
According to an April 2002 ruling by the independent Ethiopia-Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC), which Addis Ababa vehemently opposes, Badme lies in Eritrea.
In terms of the Algiers Agreement which ended the border war in December 2000, both states committed themselves to be bound by the decisions of the EEBC on the position of their common border. However, the demarcation -‒ due to begin last October -‒ has now been postponed indefinitely.
Last September, the UN Security Council passed a resolution that renewed the mandate of Unmee and called on the two warring states to settle their differences through dialogue.
A statement issued by the Security Council last week urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to “engage in broad political dialogue with a view to improving their relations”.
However, Eritrea has rejected the appointment of an envoy whom UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had hoped would bring renewed momentum to the peace process. To many, it appears that Unmee is facing “mission impossible” in the Horn of Africa. – IPS