Annan sends team to assess UN ceasefire role

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has sent a high-level team to Ethiopia and Eritrea to determine what role the UN could play in helping to implement the 18 June ceasefire agreement between the two countries, a UN press release stated on Monday. The team would hold meetings with representatives of both countries and the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) before making recommendations to Annan on the concept of operations for a UN peacekeeping operation, it said. The Secretary-General would present his proposals to the Security Council later this month, it added. Annan welcomed the ceasefire as the first step towards restoring peace and urged both sides to cooperate fully with the OAU in the envisaged second phase of the proximity talks. He said he planned to send liaison officers to both capitals, followed within the next few weeks by the gradual deployment of up to 100 UN peacekeepers.