By KUNA
United Nations : Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon late Tuesday said he is compelled to relocate the personnel and equipment of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) after Eritrea ignored his plea to reinstate fuel supplies to the Mission, rendering it immobilized and unable to carry out its mandate.
“The Secretary-General has informed the Security Council that if the fuel supplies are not reinstated by February 6, 2008, he will be compelled to instruct UNMEE to begin relocating the Mission’s personnel and equipment from Eritrea, on a temporary basis,” his press office said in a statement.
A UN official told KUNA the UN personnel of about 1,700 forces and equipment in Eritrea will be relocated to Ethiopia and the relocation will happen gradually.
The statement said Ban is “deeply concerned” about the critical crisis facing the UN as a result of the stoppage of diesel fuel supplies to the Mission by the Government of Eritrea since December 1, 2007.
“The Secretary-General regrets that, despite the letter he addressed to President Isaias Afwerki of Eritrea on January 21, seeking his urgent intervention to resolve the situation, the fuel supplies have not been reinstated and UNMEE has not received the authorization to import fuel directly,” it said.
Ban emphasized that the temporary relocation of the Mission’s personnel is a “contingency measure forced by the restrictions imposed on UNMEE by the Eritrean authorities who are endangering the safety and security of the Mission’s personnel.” In the meantime, Ban strongly appealed to Eritrea to cooperate fully with UNMEE, and urged Eritrea and Ethiopia to avoid any action which could undermine the cessation of hostilities between them.
Council diplomats expressed fear that if UNMEE withdraws, military hostilities may resume between the two neighbors who fought a war 1998-2000 over a border area.
An independent commission ruled the area belongs to Asmara. Ethiopia rejected the findings and kept occupying the area.
Protesting the Security Council’s silence regarding Ethiopia’s behavior, Eritrea first grounded UNMEE helicopters two years ago, then threw out the western peacekeepers in the Mission and is now preventing the Mission from getting fuel.