Eritrean restrictions jeopardize mission

UNITED NATIONS, May 1 (UPI) -- The U.N. Security Council says Eritrea's obstruction of the U.N. mission is undermining stabilization efforts in the region.

As of result of the continued restrictions, Security Council officials say the future of the U.N. mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea to help resolve the border dispute could be at stake. Currently the Eritrea restrictions have forced the UNMEE to relocate out of Eritrea undermining the blue helmets' mandate to enforce security, the United Nations reported.

Eritrea recently announced that it no longer supports the U.N. mission in the region. U.N. Undersecretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Jean-Marie Guehenno has said without support from both countries, the peacekeeping abilities are drastically diminished.

"The Security Council will, in the light of consultations with the parties, decide on the terms of a future U.N. engagement and on the future of UNMEE," South Africa Ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, who holds the Security Council rotating presidency, said in a statement.

Kumalo called on leaders of the two country's to show "maximum restraint and to refrain from any threat or use of force against each other."