Ethiopia submits landmine survey

The Ethiopian government has submitted ten Dangerous Area Survey Reports from areas within the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ), the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said. An information update released by the UNMEE Mine Action Coordination Centre (MACC) said that the Ethiopian report was "the first significant handover of landmine information since UNMEE arrived in the region." No actual minefield reports have been released by either government. Ethiopian authorities have stated that records about where their landmines were laid were not kept and that Ethiopian Armed Forces do not record their mine-laying activities, said UNMEE MACC on 10 March. The Ethiopian government further stated that no records were kept about where or how many landmines were recently lifted by Ethiopian Armed Forces.

Eritrean authorities have said that records about where their landmines were laid will be released when the TSZ is established, despite earlier agreements made at MCC meetings to hand over the information. Eritrean troops have remained in the TSZ since the Eritrean government complained that UNMEE had re-drawn boundaries previously agreed on by both parties.