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Security Council again demands halt to Ethiopia-Eritrea fighting

June 23, 1999
Web posted at: 11:44 p.m. EDT (0344 GMT)

UNITED NATIONS (CNN) -- The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded an immediate halt to fighting between Ethiopia and Eritrea and warned that a serious humanitarian crisis was developing in both countries.

The council also called on both Horn of Africa countries to cooperate with a high-level delegation from the Organization of African Unity and called for implementation of an OAU plan to end the conflict.

"The members of the council deplore the continuation of hostilities ... and demand that both parties immediately and unconditionally agree to a cease-fire," council President Baboucarr-Blaise Jagne of Gambia said in a statement after a closed-door briefing on the conflict.

Noting that half a million people had been displaced and several million faced serious drought in both countries, council members reminded both government it was "their primary responsibility to feed their peoples."

"The fact that they continue to purchase weapons when large numbers of their populations are facing famine is a matter of great concern to the council," the statement added.

Serious fighting on several fronts

The council statement urged:

all states to halt immediately the sale of arms and munitions to Ethiopia and Eritrea, as called for in a February council resolution that also demanded the end of hostilities, particularly airstrikes;

donor countries to make emergency relief available, in coordination with the United Nations, to help alleviate the plight of ordinary citizens of both Ethiopia and Eritrea;

both countries to grant humanitarian access to areas of military conflict so assistance could reach the local population.

Since the beginning of June, Ethiopia and Eritrea have said they engaged in serious fighting on several fronts along their 620-mile contested border.

Both claim to have caused heavy casualties to the other side, but the claims are impossible to verify independently.

RELATED STORIES:

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Forgotten War: Tens of thousands lose lives in Ethiopia-Eritrea conflict
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Ethiopia-Eritrean border war simmers
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Eritrea says it shot down Ethiopian jet
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Ethiopians celebrate victory, as Eritrea reports new combat
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RELATED SITES:

University of Pennsylvania - Department of African Studies
•Ethiopia Page
•Eritrea Page
Government of Eritrea (official site)
Eritrean Network Information Center
CyberEthiopia

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