Remains of slain soldiers to be repatriated

Top military leaders from Ethiopia and Eritrea have agreed to allow remains of soldiers killed during their border conflict to be repatriated for burial, the UN said on Tuesday. The two countries agreed on Monday that the remains of dead troops - who number 164 - should be removed from the 25-kilometer buffer zone that separates them. The area, known as the temporary security zone, is patrolled by a 4,200-strong UN peacekeeping force. Monday's agreement at the top-level Military Coordination Commission (MCC), came three years after both sides agreed to an initial ceasefire following two years of war: a final peace agreement was concluded in December 2000. Ethiopian Brigadier General Yohannes Gebremeskel said at the meeting in Nairobi that they had a responsibility to ensure that those who died in the war received a proper burial. His Eritrean counterpart, Brigadier-General Abrahaley Kifle, said the removal of the remains was a humanitarian issue and should have been done long ago. Both sides also guaranteed the safety of boundary commission staff carrying out the demarcation of their contested border - scheduled to start next month. The day-long MCC meeting, chaired by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), also heard that there had been a “significant reduction” in mine incidents. Several people had been killed after blasts in the western area of the border, blamed on newly laid mines planted by dissident groups. The MCC meetings, headed by UN Force Commander Major General Robert Gordon, are seen as a crucial element in bolstering the peace process. They are the only forum where the two countries hold face-to-face talks. In a statement on the MCC meeting released by UNMEE, Gordon commended both countries for their “scrupulous adherence” to security commitments of the peace process and their decision on the repatriation of the remains of slain troops. The next [18th] meeting of the MCC is scheduled for 30 July 2003 in Nairobi.