Ethiopia said its troops will stay inside Eritrean territories they occupy
Ethiopia-Eritrea, Politics, 6/22/2000

Following the signing of a formal cessation of hostilities agreement on June 18, Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin stayed in Algiers to participate in indirect talks with the Eritrean delegation, an Ethiopian statement said.

The statement said:
The ongoing discussions are focused on technical issues regarding the peacekeeping mission, the broad mandate of which was already contained in the cessation of hostilities agreement. Specifically, by signing the agreement on June 18, Ethiopia and Eritrea have committed themselves to the following principles (among others), as outlined in the cessation of hostilities document: * A Peacekeeping Mission shall be deployed by the UN under the auspices of the OAU

* The mandate of the Peacekeeping Mission shall be to: Monitor the cessation of hostilities Monitor the redeployment of Ethiopian troops Ensure the observance of the security commitments agreed by the two parties Monitor the temporary security zone

* Ethiopia shall submit redeployment plans for its troops from positions taken after 6 February 1999, which were not under Ethiopian administration prior to 6 May 1998. This redeployment shall be completed within two weeks after the deployment of the Peacekeeping Mission.

* The Eritrean forces shall remain at a distance of 25 kilometers (artillery range) from positions to which Ethiopian forces shall redeploy (i.e., to the pre-May 6, 1998 positions). This zone of separation shall be referred to as the "temporary security zone."

* The Eritrean and Ethiopian forces at these positions shall be monitored by the Peacekeeping Mission.

Ethiopia said in the statement "In short, Ethiopian troops are permitted to remain in the Eritrean territories they now occupy (for security reasons) and they do not have to withdraw until two weeks after the Peacekeeping Mission arrives. When the troops do withdraw, they will redeploy to positions that were under Ethiopian administration prior to 6 May 1998 (i.e., the disputed territories that were administered by Ethiopia and invaded by Eritrea, including Badme, Zalambessa and Bure). The Eritrean army will be positioned at least 25 kilometers away from the Ethiopian forces, creating a 25-kilometer buffer zone on Eritrean territory in which the Eritrean army will not be allowed to position its own troops (despite the fact that the territory is indisputably Eritrean). The Peacekeeping Mission will monitor this temporary security zone and Eritrean troops will not be allowed in these areas of Eritrean territory until the border is delimited and demarcated. The size and nationality of the Peacekeeping Mission are currently being discussed in Algiers, along with other issues."

Previous Stories:
  Eritrea, Ethiopia signed a crease fire agreement   (6/19/2000)
  Ethiopia and Eritrea will sign an peace agreement tomorrow in Algeria   (6/17/2000)
  Ethiopia officially approves OAU peace plan with Eritrea   (6/16/2000)

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