Eritrea warns of renewed conflict

Badme remains under Ethiopian occupation

Eritrea has warned it might re-start its war with Ethiopia if the United Nations fails to resolve a border dispute between the two neighbours.

Ethiopia is occupying the town of Badme, which an independent commission awarded to Eritrea under the terms of a peace accord in December 2000.

Both countries had agreed to accept the commission's findings on where their border should lie.

The agreement followed a two-year border war in which 70,000 people died.

Determined

Eritrean Finance Minister Berhane Abrehe told the UN General Assembly that Eritrea is determined and has the right to "defend and preserve its territorial integrity by any means possible".

"If the United Nations fails to reverse the occupation, it will be as equally responsible as Ethiopia is for any renewed armed conflict and its consequences," Mr Berhane said.

The frontier zone has been patrolled by a UN peacekeeping force since 2000.

Earlier this year, the UN expressed concern over a build-up of Ethiopian and Eritrean troops close to the border zone.

Eritrea became independent from Ethiopia in 1993, after Ethiopian and Eritrean rebel movements overthrew the Derg regime in Addis Ababa.