This is not the first time in the context of the border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia that the ICRC has been used publicly to denounce violations of international humanitarian law allegedly committed by one or other of the parties. The ICRC has stressed on several occasions that such a practice can only jeopardize a purely humanitarian operation in aid of the victims of the conflict.

The ICRC strongly deplores the public use of such information for propaganda purposes. It regularly visits prisoners of war and civilian internees in the Bilate camp and is therefore in a position to state that the allegations as to the death causes are unfounded.

Although Eritrea has not adhered to the Four Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, it is bound to comply with the rules of customary law.

A Previous ICRC Press Release:

The ICRC carried out two visits to the 163 prisoners of war being held in Fiche camp, the first on 27 June and the second on 2 July. All of these prisoners have now been registered.

On 26 June a visit was also made to the civilian internees being held in Fiche in order to register those who had arrived since the ICRC first went to the camp on 20 June. At the end of the second visit a total of 664 civilian internees had been registered.

All the visits were conducted in accordance with the ICRC's standard working procedures and will be repeated on a regular basis.

The civilian internees and prisoners of war who had not yet been in contact with their families wrote Red Cross messages which will be distributed via the Ethiopian Red Cross Society, the Red Cross Society of Eritrea and other National Societies.

In close conjunction with the Tigray branch of the Ethiopian Red Cross and the regional health authorities, the ICRC furnished additional medical supplies to be distributed to hospitals and other medical facilities in the northern Tigray region of the country.

In Eritrea, the National Society is continuing to provide medical facilities with ambulances and volunteers near potential conflict areas along the Ethiopian border. Such action has proved helpful in the past, particularly when fighting broke out near the town of Zalambessa and in the south-eastern border area. Local Red Cross branches are being regularly resupplied with first-aid equipment and other essential non-food items. At the same time, in cooperation with local authorities, the Eritrean Red Cross is continuing to assess the situation of displaced persons and other civilians affected by the conflict.

Intro: More fighting is reported in the border war between Ethiopia and Eritrea. VOA East Africa correspondent Scott Stearns reports there has been no progress in regional efforts to end the conflict.

Text: Fighting has returned to the western Badame front. Ethiopia says most of Tuesday's combat is located in the shemebko area on the Mereb river dividing the two countries.

Eritrean troops lost ground around Badame three weeks ago. Military observers say they are now regrouping north of the river, digging new defensive lines and repositioning troops.

Eritrea says it shot down an Ethiopian Mig-23 fighter jet Sunday and last week captured a helicopter gun ship. State-run radio Tuesday warned that Eritrean troops will continue to fire at Ethiopian aircraft flying at the Badame front.

This follows fighting last week 160 kilometers farther east on the central Tsorona front where Eritrea says it killed more than 10 thousand Ethiopians in what it calls a "devastating defeat." Ethiopia denies the battlefield losses, saying action on the Tsorona front has been "scaled down."

Ministerial talks at the Organization of African Unity have failed to secure a ceasefire or to make progress on a stalled OAU initiative to arbitrate the border dispute.

Eritrea says Ethiopia has made new preconditions on the OAU plan in an effort to torpedo the peace process. Ethiopia says it is Eritrea that is blocking mediation by refusing to withdraw from territories that were administered by Ethiopia before fighting began last may.

The OAU plan calls on both sides to demilitarize the border ahead of an international monitoring force for disputed areas and a commission to decide the exact location of the border within six months.

Eritrea wants all discussions on the conflict moved to a more "neutral site" away from OAU headquarters in the Ethiopian capital. (signed)

NEB/SKS/JWH
23-Mar-99 6:05 AM EST (1105 UTC)
Source: Voice of America