UN protests to Ethiopia over buffer zone incursions

The UN has made an official protest to the Ethiopian government after armed men in military uniforms illegally entered the off-limits security buffer zone. The UN’s Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said the men entered the 25km-wide Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) in violation of the peace agreement. Under the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement signed between Ethiopia and Eritrea in June 2000, the demilitarised TSZ is strictly off-limits to armed forces. Acting UNMEE Force Commander Brigadier General Walid Kreishan travelled to the border region to investigate three separate incursions last week. Tension in the Aromo area – in the central sector of the border which is patrolled by Indian peacekeepers - is high, and there have been numerous cases of cattle rustling. The protest to the Ethiopian authorities was made both verbally and in written form, the UN mission stated during Thursday’s weekly press briefing in Asmara and Addis Ababa. “Some [of the men] were armed, some were wearing uniforms and some were wearing civilian clothing,” said UNMEE spokeswoman Gail Bindley Taylor Sainte. She said it was unclear if the uniform was from the Ethiopian army, but noted the men had entered the TSZ from the south on the Ethiopian side of the border. UNMEE’s mandate is to “monitor and protect” the buffer zone which snakes the 1,000 km-long frontier between Ethiopia and Eritrea. “People in uniform entering the TSZ with arms, that is a violation,” Sainte added. The peacekeepers said they had told the armed men to leave on each incursion, but they ignored the protests and bizarrely proceeded to play a game of football. Sainte said they finally left “peacefully” after being told they were in violation of the peace accord. She declined to say how many men had entered, as UNMEE is still in discussions with the Ethiopian authorities over the violations. Sainte also revealed that at least two Eritreans who slipped into Ethiopia in recent weeks were on UNMEE vehicles. She said they had “exploited the ignorance” of new peacekeepers who had only just arrived as part of a routine rotation of troops. “We still do not have a clear picture of what our own involvement is and we are still trying to ascertain that,” she added.