Ethiopian military personnel in Kassala state

A group of Ethiopians, including some military personnel, has been in Kassala state since the end of May, humanitarian sources told IRIN on Wednesday. It was not clear what the function of the group was, but the sources said it appeared that they were talking to Eritrean refugees in an attempt to persuade them to join the Eritrean opposition. According to the sources, international aid agencies were trying to persuade the group to take responsibility for a number Ethiopians who had crossed the border with the Eritrean refugees in order to get home to Ethiopia. These Ethiopians were apparently left behind when Eritrean forces recaptured Barentu and had followed the refugees across the Sudanese border in order to avoid being caught up in the fighting south of Tesseney.