Eritrea expels UN peacekeeping force

Eritrea has ordered the expulsion of US, Canadian, Russian and other European staff of the UN peacekeeping mission that monitors the tense border with neighbouring Ethiopia, United Nations officials said today.

In a letter sent to the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea, the staff have 10 days to leave the Horn of Africa nation, said a Western diplomat who saw a copy of the letter. No reason was given for the expulsion. Two weeks ago the United Nations threatened to impose sanctions if Eritrea failed to ease restrictions imposed on peacekeepers.

“The officer in charge of the mission received a letter yesterday from the Eritrean government. They are asking some of our members of staff to leave, but the specifics of that letter are yet to be worked out,” said Musi Khumalo, deputy spokeswoman of the UN mission.

Nearly 3,300 peacekeepers and military observers patrol there, and it was not immediately clear how many staff were ordered expelled.

It was not immediately clear whether the order was restricted to military or civilian staff.

The UN resolution had also urges the two countries to reverse a major military buildup on their border. It also presses Ethiopia to accept a 2000 border agreement, but does not threaten any penalties if the country continues to ignore that appeal.

Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war, but the border between the two was never formally demarcated. The border war broke out in 1998 and has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

A December 2000 peace agreement provided for an independent commission to rule on the position of the disputed 621-mile border while 3,200 UN troops patrolled a 15-mile buffer zone between the two countries.

Ethiopia refused to accept the panel’s April 2002 decision, which awarded the town of Badme to Eritrea.