Forces complete withdrawal from buffer zone

Eritrea said on Tuesday that it had completed the withdrawal of its forces from the disputed border region with Ethiopia. In a statement, the Eritrean Commission for Coordination with the UN peacekeeping mission said the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF) had completed the rearrangement of their positions to beyond the northern line of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). The move clears the way for the TSZ to be clearly established as part of the peace agreement signed between the two countries in December last year.

According to the statement, Commissioner Ambassador Amdeberhan Woldegiorgis said that, in line with the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities, Eritrea’s displaced population could start returning to their villages of rigin “immediately”.
The return of internally displaced people to their farms in time to prepare for the rainy season was “of paramount importance and could not be delayed any further”, he said. The announcement followed an appeal by the US on Monday for both sides to end disagreements over establishment of the TSZ.