3 August 2001
Ref: CCPM/090/01
Press Release

Eritrea Protests New Ethiopian Violations in the Eastern Sector

Eritrea yesterday lodged a strong protest against Ethiopia's latest violation of the agreed Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) in the Eastern Sector. In a letter addressed to the Special Representative of the Secretary General, Ambassador Legwaila J. Legwaila, the Commissioner for Coordination with the UN Peacekeeping Mission, Ambassador Andebrhan Weldegiorgis, stated that Ethiopia's latest violation of the TSZ has created "a dangerous new situation."

The letter stated that "the Ethiopian army has, on 31 July 2001, moved 8 kms. north of the agreed southern line of the TSZ and occupied a sizeable area extending from grid reference 165820 (peak 1573) to grid reference 120903 (peak 885) on Map D38-121." It underscored that this new violation "constitutes a grave threat to the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities." Strongly protesting this latest violation by the Ethiopian army, the Government of the State of Eritrea called on "the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) to ensure the immediate withdrawal of the Ethiopian forces from the newly occupied areas deep inside the TSZ."

The Commissioner's letter stressed that "it is now time for UNMEE to undertake to effectively and credibly exercise its mandate so that the international community could, as provided for in Article 14 of the Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities, honour its commitment to take appropriate measures against Ethiopia's continuing violations, including enforcement measures to be taken under the United Nations Charter by the UN Security Council."

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