Horn border ruling delayed again

Ethiopia Eritrea's border war left thousands dead

A date has finally been set for the International Boundary Commission to rule on the exact position of the border between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The decision will be announced on 13 April at 1030 local time.

The Eritrean Government has made no official comment regarding the new date for the decision.

But the BBC's correspondent in Asmara says that government officials have told him they want the border decision implemented as quickly as possible, and are advocating bilateral talks with the Ethiopian government to normalise relations.

The decision was originally scheduled for the end of February, and was then postponed until the end of March for "technical reasons".

A UN peacekeeping force was sent in to the disputed border area after a bitter war was fought between the two sides between 1998 and 2000.

According to the UN information network (IRIN), members of the UN Security Council met in New York and urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to desist from any unilateral action, noting that the upcoming border ruling was not the end of the peace process.