Ethiopia backs plans to combat border shootings

Ethiopia’s armed forces have pledged “complete cooperation” in combating a spate of shootings on its far western border with Eritrea, the UN said on Thursday. The UN peacekeeping mission’s force commander, Major General Robert Gordon, travelled to the region earlier in the week to spell out new measures by the peacekeepers to ensure calm. The move came after the UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan revealed there had been five shooting incidents this year involving the Ethiopian armed forces around the border town of Humera. Gordon told a weekly press briefing that the Ethiopian Armed Forces Division Commander, Colonel Beyene Fiseh, had offered complete support to UNMEE's plans. The force commander added that both Ethiopia and Eritrea had now agreed for two extra UN-manned “watch towers” to be set up to enable greater “monitoring and stability”. Jordanian peacekeepers from the UN’s Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will also patrol the banks of the Teski River in the area. Meanwhile, UNMEE has expressed concern after Eritrea last month placed an armed guard outside one of its two outreach centres in the country. The guard, since replaced by an unarmed guard in civilian clothing, is checking the identification of people using the centre in Barentu – in the west of the country. It is unclear why a guard has been put outside the centre. There have been no guards placed outside the outreach centre in the capital Asmara. Outreach centres are seen as a key weapon in the peacekeeping arsenal by informing local communities of the activities of the UN force. The deputy head of the mission Angela Kane and the UN’s force commander have both raised the issue with Brigadier General Abrahaley Kifle, Eritrea's Commissioner for Coordination with UNMEE, to try and resolve the issue.