Security Council approves UNMEE extension

The UN Security Council on 6 September adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) by six months. The move follows a recommendation to this effect by UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his latest report on the situation in the two countries. UNMEE's mandate will now go through to 15 March 2003 "at unchanged levels of troops and military observers", the resolution said. The peacekeeping force has 4,200 personnel, including 220 military observers. The resolution also welcomed the recent release by Eritrea of 279 prisoners-of-war and urged Ethiopia to "follow through on its pledge relating to the release and repatriation of its POWs and civilian internees". Both countries agreed to release remaining POWs from their two-year border war, registered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), during a recent visit to Asmara and Addis Ababa by the ICRC president, Jakob Kellenberger. The resolution also expressed concern over "reported incidents of cross border harassment and abductions of civilians on both sides". It called for an "immediate end to such incidents". The Secretary-General's report noted there had been serious incidents on the border, mostly related to local disputes over grazing lands.