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Ethiopia + 1 more

Special report of the Secretary-General on Ethiopia and Eritrea (S/2006/992)

Attachments

I. Introduction

1. The present report is submitted pursuant to paragraph 8 of Security Council resolution 1710 (2006) of 29 September 2006, in which the Council expressed its intention to review progress towards demarcation of the border between Eritrea and Ethiopia and requested me to present updated options for possible changes to the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

II. Recent developments in the Temporary Security Zone and adjacent areas

2. Since my report of 19 September 2006 (S/2006/749), the security situation in and around the Temporary Security Zone has deteriorated further. On 16 October, in the most serious violation of the integrity of the Zone, approximately 400 armed soldiers of the Eritrean Defence Forces (EDF), along with military vehicles, six main battle tanks mounted on tank transporters and one anti-aircraft gun, entered Kerkesha in Sector West, inside the Zone. At the same time, approximately 1,000 armed Eritrean troops, with artillery guns and rocket-propelled grenades and 10 main battle tanks mounted on tank transporters, forcefully passed the UNMEE checkpoint at Maileba, heading towards Om Hajer, which is located in Sector West, inside the Zone. During the incursion, the Maileba checkpoint, which was manned by UNMEE troops from the Jordanian battalion, was temporarily taken over by armed Eritrean militia. According to information available to UNMEE, in the following two weeks, Eritrea sent approximately 745 additional troops into Sector West, inside the Zone. Since these incursions, armed Eritrean personnel have stopped all movement of UNMEE patrols in the affected areas, further limiting the already restricted monitoring capacity of the Mission.

3. On 16 October, I issued a statement that the incursion constituted a major breach of the ceasefire and the integrity of the Temporary Security Zone, and warned that it could seriously jeopardize the peace process and undermine the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities between Eritrea and Ethiopia, signed in Algiers on 18 June 2000, which would have serious consequences for the whole region. I also urged the Government of Eritrea to withdraw its troops from the Zone immediately and to cooperate with the United Nations in restoring the ceasefire arrangements. UNMEE also sought an urgent meeting with the Eritrean authorities to protest this grave violation of the Algiers Agreement between Eritrea and Ethiopia.

4. While some Eritrean troops and militia have been observed withdrawing or temporarily moving out of the Zone in Sector West, UNMEE estimates that at least some 2,000 Eritrean troops, with heavy weapons, remain inside the Zone, comprising about five infantry battalions, a squadron of main battle tanks, a battery of ZSU 23 anti-aircraft guns, a troop of type 63 anti-aircraft guns and a troop of multi-barrel rocket launchers.

5. The Minister of Information of Eritrea and the Acting Commissioner for coordination with the Mission informed UNMEE that the troops were moved into the Zone to "help harvest crops" from state-owned farms in the area. The Acting Commissioner also stated that the troop movements were "a natural decision" citing the presence of development projects in the area.

6. For its part, Ethiopia condemned the incursion as a provocation and a flagrant violation of the Algiers Agreement. So far, UNMEE has not reported any unusual troop movement on the Ethiopian side of the Zone, except for a redeployment of about 20 D-30 artillery guns in the adjacent area, near Humera, in Sector West.

7. On 21 October, in an unfortunate shooting incident, an UNMEE sentry fired at a group of unidentified Eritrean civilians who had forcibly entered an UNMEE camp in Barentu, in Sector West. One of the intruders later died in a local hospital. Immediately, UNMEE instituted a board of inquiry to investigate this tragic incident. It is expected that the board will conclude its investigation upon receipt of the relevant documentation from the local Eritrean authorities.

8. On 14 November, two low-intensity blasts occurred in two hotels in Humera, in Sector West, in Ethiopia. One of the hotels accommodates the office and personnel of the UNMEE Humera team site. There was no injury to UNMEE staff and no damage to UNMEE property. Based on information gathered so far, there is no indication that UNMEE was specifically targeted.