UN delays changes to Ethiopia-Eritrea mission

ASMARA, Mar 9 (Reuters) The United Nations has postponed a decision to reconfigure its peacekeeping mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea while the United States tries to negotiate an end to the tense border dispute between the Horn of Africa neighbours.

In January, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Eritrean restrictions on peacekeepers made their mission increasingly untenable. He outlined six options for possible changes to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).

''In view of the ongoing United States diplomatic initiative, the Security Council decided to maintain the current configuration of UNMEE for the time being,'' said a progress report on Ethiopia and Eritrea by Annan, released late yesterday.

The current UNMEE mandate is due to expire on March 15.

The mandate is usually renewed for six months at a time, but Annan recommended in his report that the mandate be renewed for two to three months while the US initiative continues.

''Meanwhile, the options referred to in my previous report will be kept under review,'' he adds.

Those options range from full withdrawal of UNMEE forces to maintaining the mission in its present form.

Eritrea introduced restrictions on UN peacekeepers, including a ban on UN helicopter flights, after repeatedly expressing frustration that the international community had not done more to enforce Ethiopian compliance with an independent border ruling.

At the end of their 1998-2000 border war which killed 70,000 people, the two countries agreed to fix their border as ruled by an independent commission, but Ethiopia subsequently rejected the April 2002 ruling by the independent commission.

In January the United States announced new efforts to end the impasse.

The commission has proposed a meeting with the two countries in London this month. It is still unclear whether or not the two parties have agreed to attend.

REUTERS SHR RN1610