(22 Feb 2001) Natural Sound
XFA
UN peacekeeping troops took their positions along the disputed EthiopiaEritrea border on Thursday following the withdrawal of Ethiopian troops from positions they captured during a twoandahalf year border war.

The last 1,200 Ethiopian troops drove their tanks, artillery and armoured personnel carriers out of the semiarid border towns of Shilalo and Senafe on Wednesday, clearing a 25kilometre (16mile) wide buffer zone for the UN troops to occupy.

Brigadier General Teferra Mamo, the commander of Ethiopian forces in western Eritrea, said his troops were redeploying to northwestern Ethiopia.

He said the withdrawal was a sign that Ethiopia was willing to live in peace with its African neighbour, but added that any further provocation would result in swift retaliation.

The village of Zalaambessa, which lies in Ethiopian territory attacked by Eritrea during the war, will now serve as the frontline for Ethiopian forces.

Life in the village is returning to some semblance of normality.

Many ethnic Ethiopians who fled Zalaambessa during the conflict have returned to their crumbling homes, made liveable by makeshift roofs made from plastic sheeting.

A market has already sprung up in the centre of the village.

Shilalo, 25 kilometres (16 miles) inside Eritrea, had previously served as the Ethiopian command post for the western sector of the border war.

The war broke out in May 1998, when Eritrean troops took control of territory claimed by Ethiopia.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30year guerrilla war, but the border was never properly demarcated.

Tens of thousands of troops are believed to have died in the fighting, and the war cost the impoverished Ethiopian and Eritrea governments hundreds of (m) millions of dollars before a peace agreement was reached last year.

In all, 4,200 peacekeepers from more than two dozen countries will be stationed along the disputed border.

The pullout of Ethiopian troops also went smoothly in other sectors of the onethousand kilometre (620mile) border, according to government and UN officials.

UN commanders say the Ethiopian withdrawal from the central sector near Senafe was orderly and carried out ahead of schedule.

He added that the presence of 90thousand Ethiopian and Eritrean troops within a short distance of each other along the central portion of the border had made it the most sensitive sector.

The establishment of the buffer zone was delayed a month after Eritrea objected to the Ethiopian redeployment plan during a meeting of the joint Military Coordinating Commission in December.

But Eritrea finally accepted the Ethiopian plan earlier this month, clearing the way for the peacekeepers.

The next task for the UN peacekeepers will be to reestablish Eritrean civilian administration in parts of the buffer zone and then assist a team of experts to officially mark the border.

The peacekeepers will also clear mine fields so that thousands of people can return to their homes within the buffer zone.

SOUNDBITE: (Ethiopian dialect)
"If the Eritreans are willing to live in peace, we have shown them that we love peace too, but if they are going to go on provoking us, we will give them the usual lesson, like we did before."
SUPER CAPTION: Brigadier General Teferra Mamo, Ethiopian Commander of the Western front

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