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Eritrea,
Ethiopia: UNSG Special Report on UN Peacekeepers
09
March 2008
In
a report dated March 3, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon submitted
the following overview about the status of UN peacekeeping mission in
Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE):
Introduction
1. On 21 January 2008, I addressed a letter to the
President of the Security Council by which I brought to the attention
of members of the Council the crisis facing the United Nations
Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) as a result of Eritrea's
stoppage of all fuel supplies to the Mission since 1 December 2007.
In my report of 23 January 2008 (S/2008/40
and Corr.1), I informed the Council that UNMEE was beginning to
experience serious difficulties in sustaining its troops and military
observers and in maintaining reliable communications with deployment
sites in the Temporary Security Zone.
2. UNMEE had formally conveyed its serious concerns
about the non-delivery of fuel in a letter dated 12 December 2007
addressed to the Eritrean Commissioner who oversees liaison with the
Mission. Follow-up letters were also sent to the Commissioner by
UNMEE on 24 and 26 December 2007. In addition, my Deputy Special
Representative met with the Commissioner on 18 and 22 December 2007,
and again on 28 and 29 January 2008 to impress upon him the gravity
of the crisis and its impact on the operations of the Mission, as
well as the safety and security of its personnel. Furthermore, UNMEE
sought, on several occasions, Eritrea's authorization to import the
fuel directly or from the United Nations Mission in the Sudan.
3. The Eritrean authorities informed UNMEE that the
non-delivery of fuel to the Mission was 'a technical matter' that
would be resolved shortly. However, despite multiple representations
by the Mission and United Nations Headquarters, they did not
subsequently take any action to address the situation or allow the
Mission to import the fuel. I therefore addressed a letter to
President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea on 21 January 2008, requesting
him, as a last resort, to intervene personally to resolve the crisis.
In that letter, I pointed out that the fuel crisis was forcing UNMEE
to halt its operations by making it difficult to maintain reliable
communications and sustain troops and military observers in the
Temporary Security Zone. Furthermore, I took the opportunity to renew
my offer to assist Eritrea and Ethiopia to implement their
obligations under the Algiers Agreements.
4. By the end of January, the situation remained
unresolved, forcing UNMEE to drastically reduce its daily patrols in
the Temporary Security Zone, from 60 on average before the fuel
stoppage, to a mere 20. At that time, the Mission estimated that, if
it maintained that minimum level of operations without replenishing
its dwindling stocks, the available fuel would be completely
exhausted by the end of March 2008.
Read full text of the report at:
http://www.eritreadaily.net/News0108/article0308062.pdf
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