UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday expressed deep concern
at the incursion by Eritrean troops into the Temporary Security
Zone (TSZ) separating Eritrea from Ethiopia in a major breach of
the cease-fire that ended the two-year border war between the two
countries.
?
In a statement issued by his spokesman, Annan called on Eritrea to
withdraw its troops from the zone immediately.
"The secretary-general urges the government of Eritrea to
withdraw its troops from the Zone immediately, and to cooperate
with the United Nations in restoring the cease-fire arrangements,"
the statement said.
The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
reported on Monday that the Eritrean Defense Forces (EDF) have
moved approximately 1,500 troops and 14 tanks into the TSZ. The EDF
also took over one UNMEE checkpoint in Sector West.
Overseeing the cease-fire between the two countries signed in
Algiers in 2000, UNMEE currently fields nearly 2,300 military
personnel to assist in ensuring the observance of the security
commitments agreed by the parties and monitor the positions of
forces on both sides.
Annan said the Eritrean incursion constitutes a major breach of
the cease-fire and the integrity of the TSZ. "It could seriously
jeopardize the peace process and undermine the Algiers Agreements
between Ethiopia and Eritrea, with potential consequences for the
wider region."
In his latest report last month on the conflict, Annan repeated
concerns that Ethiopia had not accepted the binding decisions of
the Boundary Commission demarcating the lines that had caused the
war, and that Eritrea refused to continue to cooperate with the
body.
(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2006)
