WASHINGTON – The State Department said Monday it had ordered Eritrea to close its consulate in Oakland, Calif., the latest salvo in an escalating diplomatic conflict with the impoverished Red Sea state.
The department informed Eritrea last week that the consulate must be shut down by November 8, citing restrictions imposed on diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Asmara, including travel curbs, the refusal to grant visas to U.S. officials, and the non-delivery of diplomatic pouches, which is in violation of international protocols.
Advertisement“Together, these actions by Eritrea significantly interfere with the ability of the U.S. Embassy to provide consular services to U.S. citizens and others in Eritrea,” said Karl Duckworth, a State Department spokesman.
Under the terms of the order, which was delivered on August 8, Eritrea has 90 days “to close the consulate and terminate the functions of all consulate personnel working there,” he said.
Officials with Eritrea's Embassy in Washington could not immediately be reached for comment.
Eritrea, which fought a bloody 1998-2000 border war with its arch-rival neighbor and key U.S. ally Ethiopia that is still unresolved, has been a source of growing concern for the United States in recent years.
Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea remain high and Washington has accused Asmara of playing a negative role in Somalia, where U.N. experts have said Eritrean authorities of supplying weapons to Islamic militants.
At the same time, Eritrea's increasingly authoritarian leadership is accused of clamping down on internal dissent and hindering the work of aid workers, including those affiliated with foreign governments.
The U.S. Agency for International Development was forced to close its Eritrea operations in December 2005 because the government objected to its presence.
