Informal portrait of two members of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) ...

Informal portrait of two members of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) standing in front of white UN land rovers at Post 41, manned by soldiers of B Company, 7th Battalion, Royal Kenyan Regiment, 41km west of Assab, Eritrea, near the Temporary Security Zone (TSZ). Identified, left to right: Military Assistant (Dutch Navy) to Force Commander; 552337 Major Stuart Brown, Australian Army. UNMEE was set up by the Security Council to liaise between Ethiopian and Eritrean parties and establish a mechanism for verifying the temporary ceasefire which was signed in June 2000 following two years of fighting as a result of a border dispute. In September 2000, the Council authorised the deployment of up to 4,200 military personnel to monitor the cessation of hostilities and to help ensure the observance of security commitments, and in December the two countries signed a comprehensive ceasefire agreement. More than 20 countries were involved in UNMEE and more than 2,000 troops, observers, civilians and UN volunteers remain in 2007.