By Tsegaye Tadesse
Addis Ababa - Top UN peacekeeping officials arrived in the Horn of Africa on Sunday to try to convince Eritrea not to carry out a threat to expel some of the world body's troops on its tense border with Ethiopia.
UN undersecretary-general for peacekeeping Jean-Marie Guehenno and Major-General Randhir Kumar Mehta of India, his top military adviser, made their first stop in neighbouring Ethiopia where they immediately began talks with UN colleagues.
The two, who also met African Union experts, will meet Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on Monday before flying on to Eritrea later that day, said Gail Bindley-Taylor-Sainte, spokesperson of the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE).
Tensions along the Ethiopia-Eritrea border have grown in recent weeks with military manoeuvres on both sides of the unmarked 1 000km frontier between the neighbours, raising fears of a repeat of their 1998-2000 border war.
Eritrea last week ordered UN peacekeepers from Western countries to leave within 10 days, a move likely to make the force's observation of the border impossible.
Eritrea acted out of frustration over Ethiopia's refusal to implement a ruling by independent experts on the location of the border between the neighbours, and the international community's failure to put pressure on Ethiopia to do so.
The expulsion order affects about 180 staff members of UNMEE including 91 military observers. The deadline for compliance is expected to run out at the end of this week.
Peacekeepers' movements have been curbed since October 5 when Eritrea banned UN helicopter flights and other activities.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Security Council have demanded Eritrea rescind its plan to expel the Western UN troops, saying it is inconsistent with the international character of UN peacekeeping operations.
Eritrea was angered last month by a Security Council resolution that threatened it and Ethiopia with sanctions if they failed to withdraw their forces from the border.
The same resolution called on Eritrea to lift its flight ban and expressed "grave concern" that Ethiopia has failed to fully accept the ruling of an independent commission on the border.
But it did not threaten Ethiopia with punishment for non-demarcation of the border.
Under a 2000 peace deal, both sides agreed in advance to accept the commission's decision on the location of the frontier as final and binding. But Addis Ababa balked when the flashpoint town of Badme was awarded to Eritrea, and the peace process has been stalled ever since.
The total number of staff in the UN mission in both Eritrea and Ethiopia is about 3 200 with Indian troops making up the largest contingents.