Remains of Ethiopian soldiers to be repatriated this month

The remains of 164 soldiers slain during the bloody Ethiopia-Eritrea border war will be repatriated before the end of the month, the UN said on Thursday. The bodies – all of whom are believed to be Ethiopian troops – will be returned home so that they can be given proper burials. “Both Ethiopia and Eritrea are fully supportive of the repatriation because this is the decent and humane thing to do,” said Major General Robert Gordon, Force Commander of the UN peacekeeping Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE). “Every one of them represents some mother’s son and it is time they returned home and are laid to rest with honour,” he told a video-linked news briefing in Asmara and Addis Ababa. Soldiers whose remains cannot be initially identified will be kept in marked graves so that if new information comes to light, their families can then be informed. The operation, which is coordinated by UNMEE, comes two and a half years after both countries signed a peace deal. UNMEE has also been working with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). It is expected that UNMEE will provide the resources for the operation, including work parties, helicopters and trucks. Two helicopter landing sites have been prepared to gain access to the body locations which are in a particularly inaccessible part of the buffer area known as the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). The bodies, which according to experts are well preserved, are all found in the eastern part of the 25 km-wide TSZ, near Baala and Sabalita. A small delegation of Ethiopians will enter the TSZ – which is in Eritrean territory and ordinarily off-limits to the armed forces of both countries – to witness the repatriation process. It also emerged that there are remains of more soldiers within the TSZ near the Red Sea port of Assab – although as yet there is no confirmation of the numbers of bodies. The agreement to repatriate the remains was taken by top military leaders of both countries at a meeting of the Military Coordination Commission (MCC) in June. It is expected the repatriations will take place on 25 July, prior to the next MCC meeting which is scheduled to take place five days later in Nairobi.