United Nations Radio

UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is sending the head of peacekeeping operations and a military adviser to Eritrea.

This follows the demand by the Secretary-General and the UN Security Council to the government of Eritrea to reverse its decision to expel United Nations peacekeepers. The Government is requesting the departure of military and civilian personnel from the United States, Canada, Russia and Europe. The head of UN peacekeeping, Jean Marie Guehenno, has acknowledged that the difficult situation between Ethiopia and Eritrea needs to be addressed but insists that the actions by the Government of Eritrea are unacceptable and that the UN would not pull out the peacekeepers:

"We have no intention of jeopardizing a fundamental principle of the universality of a peacekeeping operation representing the whole of the international community."

Late last month, the Security Council called on Eritrea to reverse its ban on helicopter flights and other restrictions imposed on the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea.