UNMEE unable to confirm origin of mine

The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said it had not been able to confirm which party was responsible for planting the mine which injured a Canadian peacekeeper. Kim Brandt, spokesman for UNMEE Mine Action Coordination Committee (MACC) in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, told IRIN that “it is not possible to verify which party planted the mine”. He said that “without all records and a full data base” on mine information from the two parties, UNMEE was not in a position to verify such information.

The clarification came after Eritrean official radio said that the commission for coordinating with the UNMEE had confirmed that the mine which damaged three UN vehicles in Tsorena, southern Eritrea, had been planted by Ethiopia. The commission said the mine which injured the peacekeeping soldier, contained a Belgian-made plastic explosive called PRDM-3. According to the commission, the Eritrean army had never used that type of explosive. Phil Lewis, UNMEE MACC spokesman in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, said the statement had been released by the Eritrean political commissioner and was “absolutely not endorsed by UNMEE MACC”.