The Security Council today agreed to extend the mandate by six months of the United Nations peacekeeping mission monitoring the ceasefire that ended the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea in 2000, voicing concern about the ongoing tensions between the two African neighbours.

In a unanimous resolution, Council members said repeated violations by both sides of the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ) along the border, and continued delays in the demarcation of that border, were creating a "potentially unstable security situation."

The resolution called on Eritrea to immediately withdraw its troops and heavy military equipment from the TSZ and on Ethiopia to reduce the number of additional military forces recently introduced in areas next to the TSZ, and urged both sides to de-escalate the situation by returning to December 2004 levels of deployment.

Ethiopia and Eritrea should show maximum restraint towards each other, refraining from threats of force or ending their exchange of hostile statements, the resolution added. Earlier this month, in a report to the Council, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had asked that the mandate of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) be extended until the end of January next year - a request the Council endorsed today.

Read more at scoop.co

On a related development regarding the issue between Ethiopia and Eritrea the Monitoring Group on Somalia presented its report to the Security Council on July 18 2007. The report shows clearly that the Isayas government in Eritrea has not stopped its activities even after the Ethiopian army destroyed the ICU last year. As you can see in the following report Isayas is busy trying to create another front in the south.

Letter dated 17 July 2007 from the Chairman of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia addressed to the President of the Security Council

On behalf of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia, and in accordance with paragraph 3 (i) of Security Council resolution 1724 (2006), I have the honour to transmit herewith the report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia (see enclosure).

The Committee would appreciate it if the present letter, together with its enclosure, were brought to the attention of the members of the Security Council and issued as a document of the Council.

(Signed) Dumisani Shadrack Kumalo
Chairman
Security Council Committee established pursuant to
resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia

A. States, the Transitional Federal Government and the Shabaab

Eritrea

11. Based on information reflected both in past reports and in the current report, the Monitoring Group has observed a clear pattern of involvement by the Government of Eritrea in arms embargo violations. The Monitoring Group also concludes that the Government of Eritrea has made deliberate attempts to hide its activities and mislead the international community about its involvement.

12. When using aircraft to violate the arms embargo, the Government of Eritrea has variously applied different techniques, including: (a) creation of business front companies for the sole purpose of hiding government activity; (b) use of different existing, or legitimate, airline companies; (c) creation and fabrication of false documentation, that is, filing of false flight plans indicating flights to third countries that never took place and the unauthorized use of registration numbers and call signs.

The case of the IL-76 operated by Eriko Enterprise, Asmara

13. In its previous report (see S/2006/913), the Monitoring Group provided detailed information concerning an IL-76 cargo plane transporting arms and fighters from Eritrea to Mogadishu (paras. 43-53). When presented with the foregoing information by the Monitoring Group, the Government of Eritrea denied that the flights had taken place.

14. During the current mandate, the Monitoring Group obtained a copy of the contract of sale (annex I) of the IL-76 aircraft to a company in Eritrea. A person intimately familiar with the transaction confirmed the information contained in the previous report of the Group added that the company that had purchased the aircraft was a front for the Eritrean Government. The person also indicated that a down payment of US$ 200,000 had been paid by Eritrean diplomats based in a Gulf country to the seller of the aircraft.

The case of the Boeing 707 of Aerogem Aviation Ltd, operated by Fab Air

15. During the current mandate, the Monitoring Group received information that in November and December 2006 a Boeing 707 aircraft, using registration number 9G-OAL, call signs FBA2515 and FBA2516, and owned by Aerogem Aviation Ltd,

to read the complete report click here