First U.N. observers deploy on Ethiopia-Eritrea border

The first 15 U.N. military observers today took armored cars and equipment to the Ethiopian-Eritrean border, where they will prepare the ground for 4,200-strong peacekeeping mission, a U.N. official said.

The first 15 U.N. military observers today took armored cars and equipment to the Ethiopian-Eritrean border, where they will prepare the ground for 4,200-strong peacekeeping mission, a U.N. official said.

Three five-man teams of unarmed observers, the vanguard of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, or UNMEE, boarded the Ilyushin-76 transport aircraft for the border area where the two Horn of Africa neighbors had fought since May 1996. Both countries signed a cessation of hostilities agreement on June 18 and agreed to the deployment of peacekeepers.

"We're just starting up. The aim is to get the mission going toward deploying the full contingent," said Canadian Lt. Col. Richard Ryder-Burbidge, head of UNMEE operations. "They've got a list of tasks, starting with establishing contact with the local military authorities and informing them of the mission."

By November, 2,200 peacekeepers should be in place inside the 15-mile buffer zone on the Eritrean side of the border, where they will monitor the agreement and verify the redeployment of Ethiopian troops from areas that were not under Ethiopian administration before the war began. No date was set for the arrival of the full 4,200 troops.

Another team of U.N. observers left Asmara, the Eritrean capital, on Friday for the deployment on the Eritrean side of the former front-line.

Currently, 27 U.N. observers from 19 countries are deployed in both countries. A further 54 personnel are expected within weeks.

Ryder-Burbidge said the 15 men, accompanied by two Ethiopian army liaison officers, will set up missions in Indasellasie and Adigrat.