Border talks held in London

Crucial talks to iron out the final phase of the peace process between Ethiopia and Eritrea have been held in London this week. The three-day meeting – hosted by the independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) – aimed to thrash out final details on border demarcation. The talks were expected to address where the complex physical demarcation of the 1,000 km border will actually start, informed sources said. Other probable issues on the agenda included discussion on the transfer of land between the two countries, following the Commission's 13 April border ruling. UN peacekeepers are due to de-mine areas where border posts will be placed marking out the new boundary. The area has already been photographed from the air and mapped. But the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has said it could take at least another six months before demarcation begins – around April 2003.