Posted by Shabait Staff on Jul 25, 2003, 17:38

The Eritrean Commission for Coordination with the UN Peacekeeping Mission issued a press statement today.

Due to the harsh climatic conditions and the presence of unearthed landmines, the Ethiopian regime’s soldiers that were killed at the Burie Front during the Third Offensive had been left scattered on the terrains without receiving proper burial services. Following proper investigations and identifications of about 220 Ethiopian corpses through the efforts of Eritrean militiamen in collaboration with the peacekeeping mission, the Commander of the UN Peacekeeping Forces, Major General Gordon had discussed with officials from the regime’s foreign ministry for the dead soldiers to be honorable put to rest. After the regime expressed during the 17th military coordination commission’s meeting its agreement to receive its casualties and buried them in Ethiopia, the Eritrean delegation to the meeting, driven by its humanitarian obligation and its compliance to the Geneva Conventions, had vowed to extend its cooperation in the return of the corpses. Based on the understanding reached, the abstraction and collection of the dead bodies began on July 18, 2003. Today, the 25th of July, 2003, the process was completed with the handing over of the corpses to Ethiopian forces in Burie in the presence of UN Special Envoy, Ambassador Legwaila Joseph Legwaila, the UN peacekeeping forces commander, Major General Gordon and other UNMEE officials.

Based on the agreement reached with the peacekeeping mission, three Ethiopian personnel, Lieutenant Colonel Ghebrewahid Haile, Major Abraha Mawcha and Major Tesfay Wordefo escorted by UNMEE were made to enter into Eritrean territory to become involved in the process and acknowledge that the dead soldiers were Ethiopians.

Even earlier in 2000, similar procedures that had been in progress at the front had been halted because of the regime’s reluctance and labeling of the process as ‘disgraceful’ and in its bid to conceal the truth from its own public.