UN peace keeping size “acceptable”

The Ethiopian charge d’affaires to the UN, Fisseha Tessema, has said the proposed 4,200 UN peacekeepers are acceptable to Ethiopia. In a BBC interview, monitored by the WAAG Information Digest, Fisseha said the number was appropriate for the situation “given the distance, the terrain and the experience we have had in this conflict”. He said the Ethiopian troops would pull out from the high grounds of Eritrea when the UN peacekeeping force replaced them. He said Ethiopian troops were presently occupying Eritrean territory in the west for “security reasons”. The UN peacekeeping force would maintain stability on the ground and act as a “confidence building measure for both parties”, said Fisseha. “We are discussing the issues of border demarcation, delimitation and compensation [in order] to come up with a comprehensive peaceful settlement of the conflict.” Ethiopia had “fully reversed Eritrea’s aggression”, Fisseha stated.