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UN chairs "constructive" talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea to solidify peace

UN chairs "constructive" talks between Ethiopia and Eritrea to solidify peace

Senior military officials from Ethiopia and Eritrea and United Nations peacekeepers have held a "cordial and constructive" meeting as part of the ongoing process of solidifying peace between the two countries in the Horn of Africa, the UN announced today.

The meeting of the Military Coordination Commission (MCC), held in Nairobi on Wednesday, brought together the Force Commander of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE), Major-General Patrick Cammaert, Brigadier-General Peter Augustine Blay of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), Major-General Alemshet Degife of Ethiopia and Brigadier-General Abrahaley Kifle of Eritrea.

The Force Commander, who chaired the meeting, announced that on 7 July UNMEE will formally open the bridge over the Mereb River, which connects the towns of Rama in Ethiopia and Adi Quala in Eritrea. That bridge was destroyed during the two-year war but recently repaired.

The Chairman also circulated draft guidelines for handling unburied mortal remains in areas controlled by either party. The draft was prepared by UNMEE after the last MCC meeting, where the parties agreed to cooperate on the identification and return of the remains of those killed in the war to their country of origin. The Mission said today that it will revise the draft as discussed.

Continued restrictions to UNMEE's freedom of movement were also raised during the meeting. The Chairman stated that the peacekeepers still face restrictions in areas adjacent to the TSZ north of the northern boundary - a situation which impeded UNMEE from fully implementing its mandate of monitoring the two parties' armed forces after their redeployment from the TSZ.

Since UNMEE established the TSZ on 18 April, large numbers of internally displaced people have returned to their places of origin. During the meeting, the representatives of both Ethiopia and Eritrea said the needs of people from both countries who had fled their homes must be addressed.