12 February 2008
Addis Ababa — Ethiopia has agreed to temporarily host a U.N. peacekeeping mission forced to prepare an imminent pull out from Eritrea for a relocation, after Asmara cut off fuel supplies to the force, the foreign ministry said on Monday.
U.N. force being relocated to Ethiopia would not be operational, but would have administrative status, the ministry added.
It also noted that UNMEE's area of operation remains the Temporary Security Zone-a 25 km (15.5 miles) buffer zone inside Eritrea.
The U.N. Security Council renewed on Jan. 30 the mandate of the struggling U.N. mission (UNMEE) on the border for six months, but it was unclear how long the troops could stay put because of a fuel cut-off by Asmara.
Eritrea has said the peacekeepers' presence along the border was tantamount to occupation, and ignored last week's U.N. deadline to grant the troops access to badly needed fuel.
"Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has assured U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that his country would cooperate with the U.N. in addressing the latest challenge to UNMEE, including temporary relocation in Ethiopia," Ethiopia's Foreign Affairs Ministry said in a statement.
"However, UNMEE forces being relocated in Ethiopia for a short time would not be operational, but only have an administrative status," it added.
The latest restriction, apart from other impediments on the part of the Red Sea State, has forced U.N. personnel down to their last remaining emergency reserves of diesel fuel to power generators, vehicles and other equipment for the peacekeeping operation.
"We're basically going to have to move our troops out at some point, because we're not getting any more fuel," a UN diplomat was cited as saying.
The 1,700-strong U.N. mission started work in 2000, at the end of a two-year war between the two Horn of Africa neighbours that killed an estimated 70,000 people.
Despite a peace deal that ended the 1998-2000 war, Ethiopia and Eritrea remain deadlocked over their 1,000 km (620-mile) border. A U.N. official has said U.N. soldiers were reluctant to leave because they feared it could spark conflict. An independent commission charged with marking the frontier awarded the town of Badme to Eritrea in 2002, but Ethiopia has refused to implement the ruling before more talks.
In November, the commission marked the boundary by map in a ruling that awarded the flash town of Badme to Eritrea, which Asmara accepted, but was ejected by Addis Ababa.
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