Ethiopia and Eritrea indicate they may not accept a border demarcation established by an independent panel as part of an agreement that ended their two year war.

Officials from both countries said over the weekend they will not accept the Boundary Commission's ruling, due out at the end of March, if it does not meet their expectations.

The parliamentary speaker of Ethiopia's northern Tigray region, Solomon Enqway, said Saturday Ethiopia will not be bound by "any unjust decision that is based on appeasement and compromise." Mr. Solomon also said Ethiopia will not accept any judgment that would pass the disputed border town of Zalambessa and other surrounding villages to Eritrea.

The border conflict between the two countries flared up in May 1998 when Eritrea forces, in a surprise attack, took the town of Zalambessa and other border towns in Tigray region.

For its part Eritrea says it will accept The Hague based commission's decision only if it is based on colonial era treaties.

The two countries made their stands during a visit to the region by representatives of all 15 members of the U.N. Security Council.

The head of the Security Council mission, Norway's U.N. ambassador Ole Peter Kolby, says the leaders of the two countries pledged to abide by the Boundary Commission's rulings when they signed the peace agreement that ended their two year way in December 2000.

Mr. Kolby and his team arrived in Ethiopia on Thursday and held talks with Prime Minister Meles Zenawi the next day. On Saturday, the group traveled north to the northern Ethiopian region of Tigray which borders with Eritrea. On Sunday, Mr. Kolby and delegation met with Eritrean President Isayas Afeworki in Asmara.

About 4,000 U.N. peacekeepers have been deployed along the one thousand kilometer border to monitor the ceasefire.

Some information for this report provided by AFP and Reuters.

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