The Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, has told journalists that the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) is moving towards creating a buffer zone on the disputed border.

He said there had been progress during the Djibouti-hosted 6 April military meeting, and that UNMEE was "on course towards the creation of the Temporary Security Zone [TSZ]".

However, Legwaila said that Eritrea had given no deadline for the withdrawal of its forces from the buffer zone: "They have not told us how they are going to let us know that they have completed the arrangement of their forces." He said he did not know how long the Eritrean withdrawal would take.

Legwaila said UNMEE would make adjustments to the operational map, but that it had not been withdrawn, despite complaints by the Eritreans. He said: "As we go along, we will be adjusting and correcting, where it is possible." He said there had been no progress in negotiating a direct flight access route between the two countries.

Ethiopia had informed UNMEE that access required a deviation on the border in the north, and Eritrea had still to respond.