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Security Council extends UNMEE mandate by six months |
| Addis Ababa, January 31, 2008 (WIC) - Addis Ababa, January 31 (WIC)- The Security Council renewed the mandate of U.N. peace force on the Eritrea-Ethiopia border for six months on Wednesday, according to Reuters. Ban had proposed only a brief extension because he said a fuel cut-off by Eritrea had crippled the force's activities and troops might have to be withdrawn within weeks. But council diplomats said that would amount to giving in to blackmail. In a report to the council last week, Ban said fuel restrictions began by Eritrea in 2006 and culminating in a total shut-off on December 1 "have severely hampered the mission capacity to effectively implement its mandate." A resolution passed on Wednesday by the Security Council demanded "that the government of Eritrea resumes immediately fuel shipments to UNMEE or allows UNMEE to import fuel without restrictions." It also prolonged the mandate for six months. "I think there was a feeling that the council wasn't going to be blackmailed by Eritrea," a diplomat who asked not to be identified told Reuters. "We believe (UNMEE) needs to be on the ground as one factor, if not the main factor, preventing the parties from returning to conflict." The 1,700-strong United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, or UNMEE, went operational in 2000. (END) AA |
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