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Africa Horn
Eritrea: UN staff arrested over human smuggling
2006-09-02
The UN: is there anything it can't do?
(SomaliNet) A United Nations (UN) Staff working for a peacekeeping mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia has been arrested by Eritrea on accusations that they tried to smuggle young people out of the country, the Eritrean governmentÂ’s website reported.

"Members of the United Nations Mission in Eritrea and Ethiopia (UNMEE) were apprehended yesterday by Eritrean security forces while illegally trying to move property and youths out of the country by hiding them in their vehicles," the official website for Eritrea's information ministry said in the report dated August 29, adding the incident happened the previous day.

The United Nations staff was accused of receiving money to sneak the people out. However, UNMEE officials were not readily available for comment.

Last year, Eritrea imposed harsh restrictions on UN peacekeepers, including a ban on helicopter flights.
So is this a bona fide arrest for a UN staffer diddling with the youts, or a set-up to keep the UNMEE from doing its job?
Meanwhile, UNMEE is in Eritrea to monitor a 1 000km border with Ethiopia and prevent a recurrence of a 1998-2000 war that killed some 70 000 people.
Posted by:Steve White

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