New York, 7 November: Continuing tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the military build-up along their common border are causes for serious concern, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states in his latest report to the Security Council.

"There is no other option but for the two parties to find common ground that would allow the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission to proceed with the demarcation of the border," he says.

The Secretary-General notes that a meeting of the two parties with the Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission, held in The Hague in September, had failed to resolve the impasse between the two Horn of Africa neighbors on the demarcation of the boundary. The Boundary Commission handed down a final and binding decision in 2002.

"I urge the parties to extend full cooperation to the Commission, without further delay, with a view to proceeding to the boundary demarcation on the basis of the Commission's 2002 delimitation decision," Mr. Ban writes.