Ethiopia wants UN peacekeeper out

Major Cammaert (c) has overseen the end of the war

By the BBC's Nita Bhalla Addis Ababa

Ethiopia has asked for the removal of the military head of a United Nations peacekeeping mission deployed in the region.

According to diplomatic sources, Addis Ababa wants the force commander of the UN peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to be removed from his post, accusing him of "political bias".

There are more than 4,000 UN peacekeepers in the region

A 4,200-strong peacekeeping mission has been stationed in the region since September 2000, to oversee a ceasefire between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

Dutch force commander Major-General Patrick Cammaert has been overseeing the military wing of the operation.

Political analysts say this latest move could seriously jeopardise the peace efforts in the region.

'Humiliate'

Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi is said to have requested Major-General Cammaert's removal during a meeting on Wednesday with the UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Ethiopia and Eritrea, Ambassador Legwaila Joseph Legwaila.

Sources say the Ethiopian Government felt that Major-General Cammaert was "deliberately trying to humiliate" Ethiopia.

The request comes at a time when relations between the UN peacekeeping mission and Ethiopia are deteriorating.

The war began around the village of Badme

Six days ago, Ethiopia closed its borders to all UN peacekeepers.

Ethiopia accused the UN of violating an agreement by transporting international journalists from Eritrea into the disputed western frontier village of Badme without prior permission, thereby insinuating that Badme is in Eritrea.

Ethiopia has accused the UNMEE force commander of orchestrating this whole affair.

'Serious mistake'

Officials accused the force commander of being "pro-Eritrean", adding that this was "not acceptable for a UN peacekeeping mission, which was mandated with the responsibility of being neutral".

Although the UN has apologised for what it says was "a serious mistake" and appealed to Ethiopia to re-open its borders, sources say the Addis Ababa government is still not happy.

One official said: "We want smooth relations with UNMEE, but an apology is not good enough for what they have done.

"This is not a simple mistake and something has to be done to ensure that it doesn't happen again".

However, sources stressed that Ethiopia's request for Major-General Cammaert's removal was "not an ultimatum", and that Ethiopia was hoping to re-open its borders to UN peacekeepers shortly.

UN colleagues of the force commander dismissed the Ethiopian assertions, saying Major-General Cammaert had advised against the controversial trip to Badme.

Others added that Major-General Cammaert was a man of "great integrity" who was "well respected and known for his neutrality".