United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea
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The United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) was established in July 2000[1] to monitor a ceasefire in the border war that began in 1998 between Ethiopia and Eritrea. Since that time the mission has remained in place in order to formally mark the border between the two countries. The border is to follow the route as declared by an international commission in The Hague but Ethiopia has refused to accept the ruling, despite originally agreeing to binding arbitration.
The mission has its headquarters in Asmara (Eritrea), and Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), and remains in place, with 1,676 military personnel, whilst tensions between the two countries remain high. About 1,500 of these peacekeepers are from the Indian Army. In addition, there are about 147 international civilians, 202 local civilians and 67 UN Volunteers. Their area of responsibility is a buffer zone 25 kilometers (15 miles) wide on the Eritrean side of the Ethiopian-Eritrean border. So far, there have been recorded 20 fatalities: 13 military personnel, 3 international civilian personnel and 4 local civilian personnel. The approved budget for the mission between 1 July 2007 and 30 June 2008 is of $118.99 million.
The border between Ethiopia and Eritrea remains closed and thousands of people live in refugee camps while perhaps a million people remain displaced. In October 2005, the Eritrean government restricted UNMEE helicopter flights along the border and demanded the reduction of the UNMEE force by 300 staffers. Eritrea is also restricting movement of ground patrols inside the buffer zone. United Nations Security Council Resolution 1640 in November 2005 threatened sanctions on both parties if there was no resolution.
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[edit] Staff and forces
As of 30 November 2007, UNMEE had a total of 1,676 military personnel, including 1,464 troops and 212 military observers, supported by 147 international civilians, 202 local civilians and 67 UN Volunteers.
- Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of Mission:Azouz Ennifar (
Tunisia) - Deputy Special Representatives:
- Force Commander: Major-General Mohammad Taisir Masadeh (
Jordan)
Contributors of military personnel:
- Africa
- Americas
- Asia
- Europe
[edit] References
- ^ United Nations Security Council Resolution 1312 S-RES-1312(2000) on 31 July 2000 (retrieved 2008-04-13)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
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