Regional support for ceasefire

The Executive Council of the Sahel-Saharan countries has called for the deployment of UN peacekeepers to prevent any further outbreak of further hostilities between Eritrea and its southern neighbour, Ethiopia.

In a brief dispatch after the fourth regular meeting of the council in Asmara, an Eritrean state radio report on Monday said the Sahel-Saharan council, chaired by President Idriss Deby of Chad, had held extensive talks on security, political, economic, social and cultural issues.

“In its resolution regarding the conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia, the Executive Council reaffirmed its support for the agreement signed between Eritrea and Ethiopia on the cessation of hostilities,” the radio report said. “It called for the expedition of the deployment of a UN peacekeeping force in order to avoid any outbreak of war again.” The group also called for the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from occupied Eritrean territory, and the safe return of displaced Eritreans. It also said: “A just and lasting solution to the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia can only be found through demarcation of the border based on colonial boundaries in accordance with the OAU framework agreement.”