Get out within ten days, Eritrea tells UN and westerners

ERITREA has ordered United Nations troops and civilians from western countries to leave within ten days, amid rising tensions with Ethiopia.

Diplomats said yesterday that the move would make the UN's observation of the border with Ethiopia impossible.

In recent weeks, military manoeuvres have been held on both sides of the unmarked 620-mile frontier between the Horn of Africa neighbours, raising fears of a repeat of their 1998-2000 war.

Diplomats said they had received no explanation for the Eritrean move, but suggested that it was a sign of its growing frustration with the UN over its handling of the border crisis.

"The government of Eritrea has decided to ask UNMEE [the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea] members from the US, Canada and Europe, including the Russian Federation, to leave the country within ten days," one of the diplomats said.

Gail Bindley-Taylor-Sainte, an UNMEE spokeswoman, confirmed the move but did not name the countries involved.

Diplomats in Asmara said the order would affect about 90 of 230 military observers, plus administrative and logistical staff in the capital. Other countries contributing military observers to UNMEE include Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Zambia, China and India.

An Ethiopian information ministry official said: "Ethiopia considers Eritrea's decision to expel certain nationals serving under the UN mission unhelpful to the efforts being exerted to end the border crisis."

Peacekeepers' movements have been restricted since 5 October, when Eritrea banned UN flights and other activities. About 60 per cent of peacekeepers withdrew.

Eritrea was angered last month by a UN Security Council resolution that threatened it and Ethiopia with sanctions if they failed to withdraw their forces from the border.

The resolution called on Eritrea to lift its flight ban and expressed "grave concern" that Ethiopia had failed to accept fully an independent commission ruling on the border.