Border demarcation due to start next May

Demarcation of the disputed border between Ethiopia and Eritrea is expected to start in May 2003, UN sources told IRIN on Monday. The physical construction and marking of the 1,000-km border will take between four and six months, the sources added. Only after demarcation has been completed will critical issues such as transfers of land and populations between the two countries be carried out. It means that by the end of 2003 and early 2004 the final international border between Ethiopia and Eritrea should be complete. The dates for demarcation follow recent talks in London hosted by the independent Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission (EEBC) which was set up to resolve the border dispute. The UN’s Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) will play a critical role in demarcation by demining the areas around the sites for each border post. Currently high-level talks are taking place over where demarcation will actually start, a UN source added. Military officials are said to favour the central sector of the border covering areas such as Tserona in Eritrea and Zalambessa in Ethiopia. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bitter two-year border war sparked by a dispute over the tiny, rocky village of Badme in the western sector. The EEBC has said that if the new border runs through villages and towns, it can only be varied if both sides agree.