Horn 'hiccup' on path to peace

The UN mission is going ahead as planned

By Martha Mogus in Addis Ababa

The UN's special representative to Ethiopia and Eritrea has dismissed the failure of military talks in Nairobi leading to the creation of a security zone on the border as just a 'little hiccup'.

Legwaila Joseph Legwaila told journalists and local Ethiopian army officers in the small border town of Rhama on Monday that he was sure the two sides would come to an agreement soon.

You write letters, sit in the sun and wait... that's all

UN peacekeeper

Ambassador Legwaila was speaking while touring the border areas in a bid to bolster the peace process that has began to flounder just one month after the warring neighbours signed a peace deal in Algeria.

Despite the setback, the UN special representative remained optimistic saying he believed the leaders of both countries were ready to honour their signatures and he said the 25km buffer zone between the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies wouldl soon be established.

Peace

"By the time we leave this part of Africa, there will be peace with the help of the United Nations," he promised the gathering, asking local residents not to give up hope.

The UN has been welcomed by local residents

Ambassador Legwaila reiterated UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan's words that the UN mission will not be in the area longer than necessary.

The latest disagreement is over the terms of peace agreement calling for the redeployment of Ethiopian troops to the position they held before the outbreak of the conflict in 1998.

Ethiopia is to supply its plans but now Eritrea insists that it be consulted before the redeployment goes ahead.

The special representative refrained from commenting on Ethiopia's latest allegation that Eritrea was building new trenches preparing for conflict, telling journalists that the mission was investigating all claims.

The two sides are due to meet again in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, on 23 January.

Dusty

The border area is hot, dry and extremely dusty with only a few shelled out buildings offering a break for the eye.

Most of the peacekeeping troops still seem to be in high spirits and say they have been too busy settling in for boredom to set in. What little break they have from duty is spent quietly.

"You write letters, sit in the sun and wait... that's all," one young peacekeeper said with a shrug.

Another who has been around longer was more forthright. He could be heard saying that he was not excited about living in all this dust but like a good soldier he just goes on with the job at hand.

UN mission

The UN peace mission is on course so far, with more than three-quarters of the 4,200 UN peacekeepers already arriving in the area.

Peace deal

Ethiopian troops withdraw to pre-May 1998 positions

Eritrean troops withdraw 25km from Ethiopians

UN peacekeepers between the two armies

In just the past week, Jordanian and Slovak peacekeepers have arrived and began demining in the western sector of the mission area.

On Monday, Unmee announced the opening of a direct high altitude air access route between the Ethiopian and Eritrean capital.

Unmee has already opened five land routes.

All the routes will be used by the UN peacekeepers to meet their logistic needs.

Tens of thousands lost their lives when war broke out between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 1998, with each state accusing the other of violating its territory along their 1,000-km (600-mile) border.