Eritrea expels UN peacekeepers

2005-12-07 14:19

Asmara - Eritrea has ordered the expulsion of the United States, Canadian, European and Russian staff working for the UN mission that monitors its increasingly tense border with archrival Ethiopia, according to a government notice.

The government said that in a move likely to exacerbate friction between the world body and Eritrea and raise fears of a possible new border war, Asmara gave UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) staff from those nations 10 days to leave the country.

The notice said: "Members of UNMEE with nationalities from USA, Canada and Europe, including the Russian Federation are requested to leave the country within 10 days of this notice.

"This notice comprises all those with the above nationalities irrespective of the sector they are working in."

UN mission

The letter, addressed to Joel Adechi, a senior UNMEE official in Asmara, was signed by colonel Zecarias Ogbagaber, Eritrea's top liaison with the UN mission.

Ogbagaber said the move was the result of a "decision of the Eritrean government concerning some members of the mission", but gave no details about the reasons for the expulsions.

It was not immediately clear how many UNMEE employees would be affected, but diplomats said at least 100 of the mission's staff in Eritrea was from countries whose nationals had been ordered to leave.

UNMEE officials confirmed receipt of the letter, but would not immediately comment on the step.

The US, Russia and several European nations that participate in UNMEE were members of the 15-member council.

Diplomatic sanctions

The security council voted unanimously on November 23 to threaten both Ethiopia and Eritrea with economic and diplomatic sanctions should they return to war about the border.

But, the council also warned Eritrea that it would face punitive action unless it drops restrictions it had imposed on UNMEE peacekeepers in its territory.

In October, Eritrea banned UNMEE helicopter flights and limited its ground patrols in a buffer zone in its territory along the Ethiopian border.

Since then, the mission had been unable to operate in about 60% of its mandated area, but had observed troop movements on both sides of the border where it said the situation was "tense and potentially volatile".

Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody 1998-2000 war about the border and in recent months Asmara had warned new conflict was looming because Addis Ababa had refused to accept a binding frontier demarcation emanating from the peace deal.

- AFP