U.N. Mission Hampered by Ban on Copter Flights
From Times Wire Reports
An Eritrean ban on United Nations helicopter flights has crippled peacekeeping in the buffer zone with Ethiopia, cutting off food and medical supplies to troops in remote areas, U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said.
The ban has halted efforts to remove land mines and curtailed reconnaissance along the tense border separating the Ethiopian and Eritrean armies, Haq said.
U.N. officials say Eritrea gave no reason for the ban. About 3,500 peacekeepers and police officers monitor the buffer zone along the border.
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