“Milestone” reached in peace process

The head of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) on Wednesday announced the formal establishment of a Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) in the disputed border region. Speaking in the Eritrean capital, Asmara, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Legwaila Joseph Legwaila said creation of the TSZ was the “penultimate step” in the resolution of conflict between the former allies.

“The establishment of the TSZ is a milestone in the Ethiopian-Eritrean peace process”, he said.

The statement welcomed Eritrea’s announcement on 16 April that it had completed the repositioning of its armed forces out of the proposed buffer zone. UNMEE commended both parties for fulfilling their obligations to a peace agreement signed in December last year. “This repositioning allows for the establishment of the TSZ,” Legwaila said. “To delay any further the establishment of the zone would subject the civilians seeking to resume their lives in the former war-torn areas to unnecessary suffering,” he said.

Legwaila expressed concern that Ethiopia had not informed UNMEE of redeployment plans in the Irob area. UNMEE “regrets” that Ethiopia did not communicate the “full nature” of its plans, the statement said. UNMEE said that it had no option other than to adjust the southern boundary of the TSZ accordingly.

Clarification was needed on the redeployment lines provided by Ethiopia, observed Legwaila. “This will ensure as far as possible the inclusion in the TSZ of villages to which Eritrean internally displaced persons (IDPs) are expected to return,” he said.