This took place in Asmara and was facilitated by a British non governmental organization (NGO).

Based at Asmara International Airport it is wholly owned by the government of Eritrea.

Furthermore, the road from Asmara to Barentu, via Keren, remained closed to UNMEE traffic.

Though the Government of Ethiopia had agreed to allow United Nations aircraft to fly directly from Addis Ababa to Asmara, as Eritrea had previously insisted upon, UNMEE has still not received any positive response from the authorities in Asmara.

In the 1939 census of Eritrea there were more than 75,000 Eritrean Italians, most of them (53,000) living in Asmara.

These ranged from unwarranted arrests and detention of UNMEE personnel to recent restrictions imposed on the UNMEE military police contingent within the city of Asmara.

In those sixty years Eritrea was populated mainly in the area of Asmara by groups of Italian colonists, who moved there from the beginning of the 20th century.

In the area of Asmara there were in 1940 more than 2000 small and medium sized industrial companies, concentrated in the areas of construction, mechanics, textiles, electricity and food processing.

Early in March, he travelled to Asmara together with his Principal Deputy to meet with the President of Eritrea, Isaias Afwerki, and the leadership of SLM A and JEM.

In the east, UNMIS continued discussions with the Eastern Front leadership in both Asmara and Khartoum, and with the Sudanese Government, urging them to start talks at the earliest opportunity.

With regard to the issue of a direct flight route between Asmara and Addis Ababa, I regret to report that UNMEE aircraft must continue to fly via a third country.

On 27 March, my Special Representative met with the First Vice President of the Sudan, Ali Osman Taha, to discuss the meetings in Asmara and the Darfur peace process more generally.

From there, I went to Asmara to consult with President Afwerki and all the Darfur groups the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), as well as with the Beja Congress and the Rashaida Free Lions of eastern Sudan.

With regard to the issue of a direct flight route between Asmara and Addis Ababa, I regret to have to report again that UNMEE aircraft must still fly via a third country.

As mentioned in my previous report, severe restrictions imposed by the Eritrean authorities on UNMEE military police in Asmara continued in spite of the Mission's protests, which went unheeded.

Despite my appeals to the Government of Eritrea, however, the vital road from Asmara to Barentu, via Keren, has remained closed to UNMEE traffic, and there is no indication that it could be reopened in the near future.