UN concerned about upsurge in border shootings

The UN has revealed there have been five shooting incidents involving the Ethiopian armed forces at Humera, in the western sector of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea, since the beginning of the year - three of them fatal. Major-General Robert Gordon, Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping mission (UNMEE), on Thursday confirmed that the latest incident involved the killing of a 15-year old Eritrean boy who had wandered across the border in pursuit of his camels. In his latest report on the two countries, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan noted that the number of incidents in this area "could suggest a propensity to use excessive force in this locality". Gordon told a weekly press briefing that he had held talks with Ethiopian defence ministry officials who pledged to be "more careful about their rules of engagement". Furthermore, he said, UNMEE was taking steps to have a "more overt presence" in the Humera area. "In defence of the Ethiopians in that particular region," he said, "in that northwest corner of Ethiopia there are a number of incursions that come in, some across the Sudanese border ... so it is an area of tension for them [Ethiopia] which may explain their policy on firing in that area." However, he rejected suggestions that Sudanese government forces could have been involved in the shooting incidents. Gordon also confirmed an incident last month in which five Italian missionaries - who had wandered across the southern border of the buffer zone between the two countries - were shot at by Eritreans. He said it had not yet been established whether Eritrean police or militia forces were responsible, but confirmed that they were "200 yards inside" Ethiopia. He said the five Italian women had "wandered in the dark by accident" across the border, where they pitched camp, and were subsequently shot in their tents. Four of them were injured. The Eritreans apparently believed they were fellow Eritreans trying to flee the country. The Eritrean and Italian authorities were investigating the incident, Gordon added. The missionaries were running a health clinic in Digsa, halfway between Adi Keih and Dekemhare. On demarcation, the Force Commander said this would probably not happen this month, as scheduled, but it was up to the independent Boundary Commission to make an announcement. He also said that the next Military Coordination Commission meeting - where top military officials of the two countries meet face-to-face under UN auspices - would be held on 30 July, and it was planned to increase the frequency of the meetings, especially once the demarcation process was underway.