Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07ASMARA930
2007-12-10 12:06:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Asmara
Cable title:  

UNMEE MILITARY COMMANDER REPORTS LOWERED TENSION

Tags:  PREL PHUM MOPS KPKO ER 
pdf how-to read a cable
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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASMARA 000930 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM MOPS KPKO ER
SUBJECT: UNMEE MILITARY COMMANDER REPORTS LOWERED TENSION

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald K. McMullen for reasons 1.4 (b) AND (d
).

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASMARA 000930

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

LONDON AND PARIS FOR AFRICA WATCHERS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/09/2017
TAGS: PREL PHUM MOPS KPKO ER
SUBJECT: UNMEE MILITARY COMMANDER REPORTS LOWERED TENSION

Classified By: Ambassador Ronald K. McMullen for reasons 1.4 (b) AND (d
).


1. (C) SUMMARY: UNMEE Force Commander Major General Taisir,
just back from a two-week visit to the field, reports
Eritrean troops are reinforcing defensive positions. He said
the near-starvation rations of the conscripted troops have
stunted Eritrean military capability. General Taisir said
President Isaias fears a U.S. assassination attempt, perhaps
by missile strike on his quarters in Massawa, and is likely
using the border dispute as a pretext to maintain dictatorial
powers domestically. Taisir hopes UNMEE could continue,
perhaps with a modified mandate, for five or six months
beyond January. End Summary.


2. (C) Less Tension Along the Border
--------------

UNMEE's military commander, Major General Taisir, met with
the Ambassador December 10 on his return to Asmara from a
fortnight in the field. Taisir said he found the border
tension substantially reduced, although noted concerns about
the area near Zela Ambessa in the Central Sector and in the
Western Sector near Omhagar - Humera on the border with
Sudan. Civilians along the border also seemed less fearful
about an outbreak of hostilities than they were in October,
he added. He said UNMEE played a small role in averting a
confrontation near Zela Ambessa, where Eritrean troops are
building new defensive works along the edge of a cliff "right
on the border." The Eritrean troops were collecting stones
for their new breastworks downhill from the lip of the
rimrock, apparently inside Ethiopia. Ethiopian troops said
they would shoot at the Eritreans if they continued
collecting Ethiopian rocks; UNMEE relayed this to the
Eritreans and they stopped.


3. (C) Isaias Fears a U.S. Assassination
--------------

Taisir said the root of much of Isaias' anti-Americanism
stems from his deep-seated fear that he is to be the target
of a USG assassination attempt, "perhaps by a missile strike
against the place he stays in Massawa." Taisir did not
elaborate on the source of this information, although
commented that he has frequent and good communication with
the Eritrean general staff. (NOTE: Foreign Minister Osman
Saleh, in the November 30 meeting with the Ambassador,
commented negatively on the USG policy of "regime change" in
Eritrea. End Note.)


4. (C) Hungry Eritrean Troops
--------------

Tens of thousands of Eritrean conscripts exist on
near-starvation rations, according to Taisir. "They get a
tiny piece of bread and a little bit of something else for
their food for the whole day," he reported. "This makes any
talk of an Eritrean offensive very hard to imagine," he
opined. He said Isaias wants to keep power and maintain his
strict control over the population, adding, "he may not want
a resolution to the border problem," as it provides the
perfect pretext for continued domestic repression.


5. (C) UNMEE's Future
--------------

Taisir, acknowledging that it wasn't his call, said he
thought it would be helpful for UNMEE to remain along the
border at least "until late June" to see how the situation
develops. Even should the mandate not be renewed beyond the
end of January, he said UNMEE would remain until early to
mid-April to ensure an orderly departure.


6. (C) Human Rights Day
--------------

The Ambassador's meeting with General Taisir occurred
immediately following the ceremony marking Human Rights Day.
The ceremony was attended by UN officials, the assembled
diplomatic corps, school choirs, and UNMEE officers. The

ASMARA 00000930 002 OF 002


third-ranking Foreign Ministry official spoke on behalf of
the GSE, a surprise for members of the diplomatic corps who
said the GSE had boycotted Human Rights events in the recent
past. The MFA's Ambassador Petros perfunctorily reaffirmed
Eritrea's commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights, then decried the plight of Eritreans driven from
their homes by Ethiopia's "illegal occupation of sovereign
Eritrean territory." The event, held at the UNMEE compound
near the airport, was punctuated by three overflights by
Eritrean Air Force fighters.


7. (C) BIO NOTE
--------------

UNMEE Force Commander Major General Mohammad Taisir said he
was the third-ranking officer in the Jordanian Army. As
UNMEE Force Commander, he said he spends two thirds of his
time in Asmara, one third or less in Ethiopia. He has
attended the U.S. Army's Command and General Staff College,
the Army War College, and other U.S. military training
institutes. He is planning to visit Amman later in December,
hinting that he may be in for a more senior Jordanian
military position, although he noted he is scheduled to stay
with UNMEE until April 8, 2008.
MCMULLEN