UN blasts Eritrea helicopter ban

Badme remains under Ethiopian occupation

The United Nations Security Council has called on Eritrea immediately to reverse its decision to ban all helicopter flights by UN peacekeepers.

Eritrea announced on Tuesday that it was banning the flights, which are used to supply peacekeepers, to move troops and to carry out monitoring.

UN troops are patrolling the Eritrea-Ethiopia border zone in terms of a peace plan signed in 2000.

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

Serious

The Security Council reacted to Eritrea's ban on helicopter flights by UN peacekeepers with a quickly arranged meeting.

A strongly-worded statement approved by all 15 members expressed grave concern at the decision saying it would have serious implications.

The UN's under secretary for peacekeeping, Jean-Marie Guehenno, said the flight ban "would very gravely impede our capability to do our job in the peacekeeping mission".

He said he hoped the Eritrean government would reverse its decision.

"If we are not able to move around effectively with our helicopters, we will have much less visibility on what is going on on the ground, which can in turn create suspicions and create more instability," Mr Guehenno told Reuters news agency.

The ban is due to take effect on Wednesday.

Commission

The two countries ended their border war after a peace agreement which provided for an independent commission to rule on their disputed border.

However, the commission's findings have yet to be implemented, and Ethiopia continues to occupy the town of Badme, which the commission ruled belonged to Eritrea.

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

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan emphasised that both governments had the primary responsibility to bring about peace and security.

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.