Dakar, Senegal — The UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) Tuesday described as "important development" the detailed military minefield information the mission received on Monday from the Eritrean authorities.

"UNMEE welcomes this important development, which is so critical for the purposes of peacekeeping and for humanitarian objectives," the force commander, Maj.-Gen. Patrick Cammaert, said.

The Eritrean Commissioner for Co-ordination gave UNMEE the data.

The data covers significant frontlines and includes details on anti-tank and anti-personnel minefields laid by the engineering corps of the Eritrean Defence Forces, he added.

UNMEE's Mine Action Co-ordination Centre, known as UNMACC, will use the data to enhance the safety of peacekeepers working in the Mission area, he observed.

The Ethiopian authorities last week released to UNMEE the results of some of the dangerous area surveys conducted by HALO Trust - the NGO commissioned by the UN's Mine Action Service to survey the mission area.

The June Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities and Security Council resolutions 1312 and 1320 call on the armed forces of both countries to play a crucial role in mine clearance.

UNMEE, through UNMACC, shall assist the parties' demining efforts by providing technical advice and co-ordination while the parties shall, as necessary, seek additional demining assistance from UNMEE.

Minefield records are essential to UNMEE's ability to deploy its peacekeepers in former battle grounds, and also essential so that humanitarian relief efforts can be undertaken to ensure the return of the estimated 750,000 people who were displaced by the fighting in both countries.

Both parties agreed to provide UNMEE with information on known and suspected minefields so that UNMACC can maintain a comprehensive database of minefields in the region.