UN Security Council Authorizes 4,200 Personnel for UNMEEThe United Nations Security Council Friday authorized the deployment within the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) of up to 4,200 troops, including up to 220 military observers, until March 15, 2001.In a resolution which was unanimously adopted, the Security Council welcomed the intention of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan to appoint a special representative who will be responsible for all aspects of the United Nations work in fulfillment of the mandate of the UNMEE. The Security Council requested the secretary-general to coordinate with the Organization of African Unity in the implementation of the Agreement on the Cessation of Hostilities between the two countries. The council called upon the two countries to take whatever action may be necessary to ensure the UNMEE's access, safety and freedom of movement, and to provide the assistance, support and protection required for the performance of its mandate in all areas of its operation. The council urged the parties to proceed immediately with demining in order to ensure safety access of United Nations and associated personnel to the areas being monitored. It urged the parties to continue negotiations and conclude without delay a comprehensive and final peace settlement. Ethiopia and Eritrea signed a cease-fire agreement in June after two years of an intermittent border war which claimed tens of thousands of lives and left more than a million people homeless. The UNMEE was established by the Security Council in July to monitor the cease-fire between the two countries. |
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