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UN Security Council Threatens Sanctions Against Ethiopia, Eritrea


The United Nations Security Council has threatened Ethiopia and Eritrea with possible sanctions if the countries use force to settle their border dispute.

The 15-member Council unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday demanding that the two east African nations reverse a troop buildup along their shared border.

The resolution also threatens sanctions if Eritrea does not lift restrictions imposed on U.N. peacekeepers in a buffer zone along the border.

Last month, Eritrea banned the peacekeepers from making helicopter flights or nighttime vehicle patrols on its side of the zone.

These tensions have heightened fears that the countries will repeat their 1998 to 2000 border war, which killed 70,000 people.

The Security Council resolution calls on Ethiopia to accept an independent panel's decision to award a disputed border town to Eritrea. But the text does not threaten any penalties if Ethiopia ignores that appeal.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.

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