“Serious difficulties” remain

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, said that although some progress had been made in relations between Ethiopia and Eritrea, serious difficulties remained, a 20 June UN report said. “The establishment of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) is an encouraging development, which, despite the disagreements between the parties, marks a milestone in the implementation of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities,” the report said.

The secretary-general called on the two parties “to resolve the outstanding issues, in particular those pertaining to the TSZ, so as to ensure that it is clearly defined and effectively demilitarised”.

In a letter to Eritrea’s president, Isayas Afewerki, on 1 June, Annan drew attention to the deployment by Eritrea of “an excessive number of militia and police” in the TSZ. Annan also noted that the status-of-forces agreement for UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea had not been signed, the report said.
In a separate letter on the same day to Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, the secretary-general expressed concern over “the continued presence of Ethiopian troops in parts of the eastern sector” of the TSZ. Annan said it was regrettable that, despite his appeals, there had been no progress regarding the establishment of a direct high-altitude flight route between Asmara and Addis Ababa for UN planes.

The report said that Annan cited as major concerns the humanitarian situation and the presence of land mines and unexploded ordnance. He also stressed the importance of the boundary commission mandated to delimit and demarcate the border between the two countries, and resolve the dispute that caused the war.