ANNAN REBUKES ERITREA

The Secretary General of the UN, Kofi Annan, has expressed his concern over Eritrea's refusal to withdraw it's military forces from the Temporary Security Zone. as stipulated by the Peace Agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

In doing so, Eritrea is endangering the current peace process. Mr Annan issued a warning on 8^th March that if Eritrea did not withdraw all its troops from the buffer zone there could be further conflict.

In a report to the UN Security Council Mr Annan stated that the presence of Eritrean troops in the zone “constitutes a potentially dangerous situation which should be expeditiously resolved”. He added that UNMEE peacekeepers “face an unstable situation…”.

Eritrea has previously obstructed the peace process and continues to cause delays at this crucial stage, thereby unnecessarily extending the time needed to complete the entire process, which could bring fully confirmed peace between the two sides.

UNMEE’s six-month mandate will expire this week and Mr Annan is to request that it be extended for another six months – until 15^th September.

Last week the UN verified the Ethiopian withdrawal which took place four days ahead of schedule.

The international community should pressurise Eritrea to comply with the Peace Agreement.