By Louis Charbonneau
UNITED NATIONS, (Reuters) – Eritrea does not want another war with Ethiopia and seeks good relations with its neighbor, provided Addis Ababa withdraws from Eritrean territory, Eritrea’s U.N. ambassador said on Friday.
Ethiopia and Eritrea have both moved tens of thousands of troops to the border because of a dispute over their 620-mile (1,000-km) border. U.N. officials have expressed fears that the present withdrawal of U.N. peacekeepers from the border region could open the door to a new conflict.
“I would like to assure you that we in Eritrea are sick and tired of wars,” Ambassador Araya Desta told Reuters in an interview. “We don’t want another war. We are not warmongers.
“There is no reason why we should not have good relations with Ethiopia, provided they withdraw from Eritrean territory,” he said.
Ethiopia also has said it does not want a new war.
U.N. peacekeepers started work in 2000 after a two-year border war between the Horn of Africa neighbors that killed an estimated 70,000 people.
The peacekeepers have been stationed in a 15.5-mile (25-km) buffer zone inside Eritrea. But Asmara turned against the mission because of U.N. inability to enforce rulings by an independent boundary commission awarding chunks of Ethiopian-held territory, including the town of Badme, to Eritrea.
On Thursday, the U.N. Security Council condemned what it called “systematic violations” of its resolutions by Eritrea, including a food and fuel blockade, which led to a decision by the U.N. mission on the Ethiopian-Eritrean border to withdraw.
The council statement came as the 1,700-member force, known as UNMEE, sought to regroup in the Eritrean capital Asmara after being forced by the blockade to leave the disputed border it monitored for more than seven years.
“We are very sorry about that (council statement),” Desta said. “We are very mad about this … We are cooperating (with UNMEE) in all areas.”
ERITREA: U.N. TROOPS HAVE FOOD
Although Asmara has said the U.N. presence on the border was tantamount to occupation, U.N. officials have said the Eritreans were making it difficult for UNMEE to leave the border zone. However, a U.N. spokesman said on Friday there had been no problems reported on Thursday.
Desta denied there was a food or fuel blockade.
“We didn’t cut off the food supplies,” he said. “Food has reached those people in the countryside. They (currently) have enough for one good month.”
Western diplomats have said they suspected Eritrean soldiers wanted to get their hands on UNMEE’s equipment, which would explain why they were making it difficult for them to withdraw. Desta denied that allegation.
“We are not expecting anything from UNMEE,” he said.
On Wednesday, Eritrea accused the United Nations of making false accusations against it.
“The press offices of the United Nations and other private media have been leveling unfounded accusations against Eritrea about UNMEE’s situation in the country,” the Eritrean mission to the United Nations said in a statement.
Desta said he had personally complained to the United Nations about what Asmara sees as incorrect information it has been providing to the media.
(Editing by Bill Trott)