Ethiopia attacked our troops: Eritrea
Ploy to unsettle status quo: Ethiopia

Eritrea’s latest claim of an Ethiopian attack on its troops is not only a fabrication of the facts but also a ploy intended to unsettle the status quo, a government official told The Reporter on Thursday.

The statement from  the Ministry of Foreign Affairs comes after an Eritrean official website on Wednesday accused Ethiopia of carrying out an attack a day earlier in the Southern Tsorona region, which is within what used to be a 25-km Temporary Security Zone (TSZ).

“The incident did take place and we are looking into it. Such incidents however have been taking place ever since Eritrea violated the Algiers agreement by deploying its troops within the security zone and incapacitating the UN peacekeeping forces stationed there,” Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson, Wahade Belay, said. “This is just an ongoing provocation by the regime in Eritrea. It is yet another attempt to unsettle a status quo which may not be the best, but is good.”

What Ethiopia is concerned about, the spokesperson said, is what will follow and why Eritrea has chosen to exaggerate the incident his office characterized as “[a possible] accidental encounter" between the reconnaissance missions of the two parties.

“We know from experience how they operate, they are making attempts to build a case here. They are trying to attract world attention by making it look like we are about to go to war with them. But we have officially said time and time again that we will not start the war,” Wahade said.

With the dissolution of the Ethiopia Eritrea Boundary Commission (EEBC) last month, tensions have been on the high over concerns that the two countries might once again resort to the use of military force.

The EEBC, which was responsible for carrying out the demarcation of the contested boundary between the two countries, had indicated that it will mark the posts on maps and leave the actual work for both countries to take care of.

Ethiopia says it accepts the delimitation part of the process but has consistently called for further talks regarding the demarcation aspect.

Eritrea has refused any further talks and is pushing for the demarcation to be implemented on grounds that the commission’s decision is final and binding.

“The Eritreans believe this is a complete and done issue. We believe otherwise. We are saying let us sit and hold the talks face to face or through third party mediators. The talks we are calling for are not just about the demarcation issue, we are also looking to discuss the normalization part of our relationship.”

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice who visited here this month said after her meeting with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi: “I also urged the prime minister to avoid any acts that might heighten friction between Eritrea and Ethiopia and to take concrete steps to lessen tensions on the border. There must not be a resumption of hostilities initiated by either side.”

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon is said to be seeking mechanisms including the assignment of a special envoy who will try to mediate between Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE) on Wednesday confirmed that firing incident which took place at about “3:30 hours”.

“The Indian Battalion (Indbatt) Post and UN Military Observer Team Site located at Tsorena inside the Temporary Security Zone, Eritrea, heard firing sounds in the general direction of Gergera, southeast of Tsorona in the border area.  The team site and Indbatt post patrol could not go to the scene due to permanent restriction access to the area,” UNMEE said on Thursday.

UNMEE also said that it was investigating the incident.
No information has yet been made available on whether there were casualties from any of the two sides as a result of the shooting incident.