Release of POWs halted

The release and repatriation of prisoners of war (POWs) between Ethiopia and Eritrea has come to a halt, a report by the UN Secretary-General to the Security Council said on 5 September. The report said the exchange had come to a halt despite the commitment made by both governments under the peace agreement of 12 December 2000, which stipulated that "the parties shall without delay release and repatriate all prisoners of war". Figures supplied to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea indicated that about 1,800 POWs remained in Ethiopia and 400 in Eritrea, the report said. Meanwhile, the Eritrean Information Coordination Centre (ICC) said there had been no reported exchange of civilian nationals between Ethiopia and Eritrea between 16 and 31 August. It said ICRC had facilitated the repatriation of 2,659 civilian Eritreans and 21,072 Ethiopians. "The exchange of POWs did not proceed since the last exchange in March 2001 where ICRC repatriated 856 Eritrean and 629 Ethiopian POWs to the their respective countries," the joint UN and Eritrean Relief and Refugee Commission (ERREC) said in an update on 31 August. However, some 319 Ethiopians were reportedly repatriated from Eritrea with the help of the International Committee of the Red Cross, according to official Ethiopian radio on 6 September.