Press Release
8 June 2001
Ref: CCOM/067/01

Commissioner Meets with Visiting Kenyan Deputy Commander

Commissioner Andebrhan received visiting Deputy Commander of the Kenyan Army Major General J. M. Kianga at the office of the Commissioner for Coordination with the UN Peacekeeping Mission yesterday afternoon. The Commissioner welcomed Maj. Gen. Kianga to Eritrea and commended the positive role being played by Kenya in the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea adding that the Kenyan Battalion in the Eastern Sector (KENBAT) was performing its duties diligently.

Commissioner Andebrhan briefed Deputy Commander Kianga on the status of the peace process and on the difficulties facing the establishment of the temporary security zone (TSZ) following Ethiopia's attempts to unilaterally redraw the southern line of the TSZ. He assured the visiting official that Eritrea was committed to the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and that it had withdrawn its forces to above the northern line of the TSZ as agreed to by Ethiopia and Eritrea in January. The Commissioner informed Maj. Gen. Kianga that Eritrea's overriding concern was the safe and secure return of the internally displaced population (IDP) to their homes, villages and farms and that Ethiopia's continued presence inside areas of the TSZ and its refusal to submit comprehensive and operationally useful information on landmines it laid inside the TSZ was obstructing this return.

Maj. Gen. Kianga thanked the Commissioner for the briefing and expressed his hope that the difficulties facing the mission could be overcome as quickly as possible and that the parties could move toward an expedient and lasting resolution. He noted that Kenya had been happy to participate in the mission and noted the longstanding ties between Kenya and Eritrea. Maj. Gen. Kianga said he would relay the concerns and the optimism of Eritrea regarding the process to his counterparts at the UN Mission. Maj. Gen. Kianga arrived in Asmara yesterday and departed for Assab, where KENBAT is stationed, this morning.

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