The UN Security Council late on Tuesday warned Ethiopia and Eritrea against reigniting their border war and urged Eritrea to immediately reverse its ban on all helicopter flights by UN peacekeepers.
In a tough statement approved by all 15 council members and read at a formal meeting, the council called on both countries "to show maximum restraint and to refrain from any threat of use of force against each other."
Council members expressed "grave concern" at Eritrea's decision to restrict helicopter flights by UN peacekeepers in Eritrean airspace which came into effect yesterday. The ban violates Security Council resolutions calling on the country to provide access so the UN mission can perform its duties, the statement said.
Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, head of the UN mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, has warned recently that the border dispute could lead to a new war. He urged the Security Council and African Union to take urgent steps toward a resolution.
The Horn of Africa nations fought a two-and-a-half-year border war that ended after a December 2000 peace agreement. The deal provided for an independent commission to rule on the position of their disputed 1,000km-long border.
But Ethiopia has refused to accept the decision issued in April three years ago by the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission -- part of the Permanent Court of Arbitration based in The Hague, Netherlands. Ethiopia objects to the awarding of the disputed town of Badme to Eritrea.
The Security Council underlined the need to implement the boundary commission's decision "without further delay," which it said would allow the UN mission to fulfill its mandate.
The 3,200-strong UN peacekeeping force monitors a buffer zone along the border separating the two armies.
UN Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno said that freedom of movement is essential for the effective operation of the UN force, and he expressed gratitude that the council responded with "a very unambiguous and strong statement" on the same day the Eritreans announced the ban on helicopter flights.
He said it was very difficult to tell how serious the threat of renewed conflict is.
"What I can say is if we are not able to move around effectively with our helicopters we will have much less visibility on what's going on on the ground, which can in turn create suspicion and more instability," Guehenno said.
"It's not a good situation if the peacekeeping mission cannot have a full view of what's going on," he said. "We hope that the government of Eritrea will reverse its decision and that our operation can operate for peace in the region."
Guehenno said most flights by UN peacekeepers are helicopter flights, though fixed-wing aircraft are used to travel between the capitals of Ethiopia and Eritrea, via third countries.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
‘HYANGDO’: A South Korean lawmaker said there was no credible evidence to support rumors that Kim Jong-un has a son with a disability or who is studying abroad South Korea’s spy agency yesterday said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s daughter, Kim Ju-ae, who last week accompanied him on a high-profile visit to Beijing, is understood to be his recognized successor. The teenager drew global attention when she made her first official overseas trip with her father, as he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Analysts have long seen her as Kim’s likely successor, although some have suggested she has an older brother who is being secretly groomed as the next leader. The South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) “assesses that she [Kim Ju-ae]
RSS