US trying to end border dispute
2006-01-09 23:41
New York - The United States is sending a special envoy to the Horn of Africa to try to resolve a border demarcation dispute between Eritrea and Ethiopia, US ambassador to the UN John Bolton announced here on Monday.
Bolton said assistant secretary of state for African affairs Jendayi Frazer would lead a delegation to the region to try to resolve the tensions between the two countries, namely "how to begin implementation of the demarcation process".
"... I asked (the council)
that we freeze the status quo for 30 days" regarding the
disposition of the UN mission monitoring the tense border", Bolton
told reporters.
"The council is very pleased with the (US) initiative," said
Tanzania's UN envoy Augustine Mahiga, the council president for
January.
Bolton has consistently argued that the stalled demarcation
process was the crux of the dispute and needed to be addressed head
on.
Last week UN chief Kofi Annan presented the council with six
options ranging from maintaining the status quo to a full
withdrawal of the UN force.
The UN
under-secretary-general for peacekeeping operations, Jean-Marie Guehenno, welcomed the US initiative but said its was "too early
to tell" whether it would succeed.
Guehenno said the UN was prepared to provide logistical support,
such as help in removing mines along the border, but made it clear
that "the responsibility (for demarcating the border) lies with the
parties".
Eritrea has repeatedly warned that a new conflict is looming as
Ethiopia refuses to accept the binding post-war border demarcation
set by a boundary commission in 2002 in line with a 2000 peace
deal.
The two east African neighbours fought a bloody 1998-2000 war
over the border that claimed some 80 000 lives.