ETHIOPIA-ERITREA: Disputed border still tense, says UNMEE

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

NAIROBI, 2 Feb 2006 (IRIN) - The military situation in the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) and adjacent areas along the disputed Ethiopia-Eritrea border remains tense, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) said in a statement on Thursday.

Routine troop movements had been noticed on both the Ethiopian and Eritrean sides, UNMEE reported.

Peacekeepers continue to monitor the TSZ and adjacent areas despite a ban by Eritrea on UNMEE flights and some restrictions on the movement of patrols.

According to the statement, a civilian truck drove over a mine in the TSZ on 31 January, injuring five people - two of them seriously.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the two nations was never formally demarcated. War erupted in 1998, killing tens of thousands of people.

The war ended in 2000. Thereafter, both countries agreed to abide by the ruling of an independent commission on the 1,000-km border while UN troops patrolled a 25-km buffer zone between them. However, Ethiopia has refused to implement the ruling, which awarded the key border town of Badme to Eritrea.

Angered by the international community's failure to compel Ethiopia to obey the ruling, Eritrea banned in October all UN helicopter flights and vehicle movements at night on its side of the buffer zone.

[ENDS]