 Recalling its prior condemnation of Eritrea's hindrances, the Security Council said the country's ongoing obstruction of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) has dealt a blow to the blue helmets' mandate.
The restrictions posed by Eritrea have induced UNMEE to relocate temporarily, according to a statement read out last night by Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo of South Africa, which held the rotating presidency of the Council for April. "The Security Council will, in the light of consultations with the parties, decide on the terms of a future lunch UN engagement and on the future of UNMEE," he noted.
The 15-member Council said that it is prepared to help the sides break the stalemate, but warned that - as it has in previous statements - the two countries are responsible for reaching a "comprehensive and lasting settlement" of their border dispute and for normalizing their relations.
| Or they could start another senseless, stoopid war again. Let me check with Vegas to get the odds on peace versus war in the Horn of Africa ... |
Calling on the Horn of Africa neighbours "to show maximum restraint and to refrain from any threat or use of force against each other," the statement urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to follow up on commitments made in the 2000 Algiers Agreements, which ended the war between the countries. |