Ethiopia is concerned at the United Nations pull-out from some bases along the tense border with Eritrea, saying on Tuesday that the peacekeepers help ensure war does not break out again.
After saying its work had been hampered by new restrictions imposed by Eritrea, the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea said on Monday it was pulling peacekeepers from 18 of 40 posts in the buffer zone and strengthening operations at other positions.
United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan later warned Eritrea that if it continues to impede peacekeeping operations the UN may pull its troops out of the buffer zone.
The 3 300 UN peacekeepers have patrolled the border since a two-and-a-half year Eritrea-Ethiopia border war ended in 2000.
Eritrea informed the United Nations that it was banning helicopter flights by UN peacekeepers in its airspace in the buffer zone starting on October 5. It also banned UN patrol vehicles from operating at night on its side of the 1 000km ”Temporary Security Zone”.
The UN said the new restrictions made it impossible to guarantee there was no renewed military build-up along the border separating the two armies.
”The presence of the UN peacekeepers is very important for Ethiopia as they act as a trip wire in case of any potential attack,” Information Minister Berhan Hailu said in an interview on 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 UN Security Council warned Ethiopia and Eritrea on October 4 against re-igniting war and urged Eritrea to reverse its ban on helicopter flights.
On 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, The Netherlands — 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. – Sapa-AP