WASHINGTON (AP) – The U.S. State Department said Monday it had ordered Eritrea to close its consulate in Oakland, California, 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 Nov. 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.

«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.

More from Reuters >>>

ASMARA, Aug 13 (Reuters) – The United States said on Monday it had ordered closed an Eritrean consulate, which Asmara called the latest “unjust and unfriendly” U.S. action in a worsening diplomatic relationship.

Eritrea routinely denounces the United States for its support of Ethiopia, with whom Asmara is locked in a bitter dispute over the Horn of African nations’ shared border.

The United States and the United Nations accuse Eritrea of funnelling weapons to Islamist insurgents in Mogadishu fighting the Ethiopian-backed Somali interim government.

A U.S. embassy official in Asmara who spoke on condition of anonymity said the Eritrean consulate in Oakland, California, last week was given 90 days to close down, in response to restrictions placed on the embassy in Eritrea.

“For the past year the U.S. has been trying to work with the government of Eritrea to address these restrictions that have impeded our ability to operate,” the official said.

“Since they have been unwilling to engage with us, we have taken these actions in response to these restrictions.”

The U.S. official said the constraints included interference with diplomatic pouches, travel restrictions for embassy personnel and the refusal to grant visas.

Already, the U.S. embassy in Asmara closed its visa section in February for what it said were similar difficulties.

But Eritrea dismissed the U.S. allegations and said it had respected its diplomatic treaty obligations.

“I have no explanation for this. If you look at U.S. policy in the last two years, we have seen a pattern of unfriendly and unjust acts against Eritrea,” Yemane Ghebremeskel, a senior government official, told Reuters.

He did not say whether Asmara would take reciprocal action.

Eritrea’s diaspora community is an important source of revenue for the cash-strapped Red Sea state. Economists estimate remittances total from 30 percent to 70 percent of the nation’s annual gross domestic product.

Eritrean government editorials routinely decry the United States for supporting Ethiopia, calling Washington “despicable.”