Military commission meets in Djibouti

The 12th meeting of the Military Coordination Commission (MCC) was held on 28 March in Djibouti, a United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) press release has said. During the meeting, the MCC, which comprises representatives of the Ethiopian and Eritrean armed forces, the Organisation of African Unity and UNMEE, was briefed on the military situation in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) separating the two sides, and in the adjacent areas. According to the press release, the MCC was informed that while there had been no overall changes in deployment, there has been troop rotations involving the Kenyan, Bangladeshi, Italian, and Indian contingents. UNMEE Force Commander Maj-Gen Patrick Cammaert told the meeting that, following the delimitation decision of the Border Commission (due on 13 April), the peace process would enter its next phase. He also said that the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, had been meeting Ethiopian and Eritrean leaders to initiate discussions on a variety of issues related to the implementation of the delimitation decision, according to the press release. UNMEE would increase its monitoring of the TSZ, the adjacent areas, and the redeployed armed forces of the parties in the period leading up to and following the delimitation decision, Cammaert told the meeting, said the press release. The meeting was chaired by Cammaert, and the participants agreed to hold the next MCC meeting in Djibouti on 22 April.