UN to give notice before leaving buffer zone

UN peacekeepers will need to consult with Asmara before leaving the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) for other areas within Eritrea, the government of Eritrea was quoted by AFP as saying on Wednesday. “The UN cannot just move anywhere without giving us prior notice. That would be a violation of Eritrean sovereignty,” Yemane Gebremeskel, spokesman for the Eritrean presidency, told AFP.

The statement came only days after the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UMMEE) called on the governments of both countries to ensure UNMEE’s access, safety and freedom of movement both within the 25 km-deep TSZ and areas adjacent to it. In a press statement released 20 July, UNMEE said that while the Ethiopian authorities had agreed to UNMEE’s freedom of movement, the Eritrean government “has repeatedly argued against our right to unrestricted freedom of movement outside the TSZ and supply routes to the zone”. Eritrea insists that it is under no obligation to grant free access to the 15-km area adjacent to the TSZ, access to which UNMEE says is essential for it to discharge its responsibilities under the mandate given the peacekeeping operation by the UN Security Council. “That would, in effect, extend the buffer zone to 40 km. There is no justification for that,” Yemane told AFP. However, UNMEE says its mission is to observe what is happening outside as well as inside the TSZ.