By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE |<\/p>\n
NAIROBI, November 21- Eritrea said Friday the reason thousands of its youth are fleeing the hardline regime is because the UN refugee agency and countries with \u201csinister\u201d motives are tempting them to leave.<\/p>\n
Tens of thousands have now run away from the autocratic Horn of Africa country, escaping open-ended conscription and the iron grip rule of President Issaias Afeworki, with many continuing northwards to brave the often harrowing journey towards Europe.<\/p>\n
Asmara\u2019s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the youth were fleeing the county because of \u201cdeliberate policies of certain governments and agencies\u201d who have chosen to \u201cencourage for sinister political purpose the youth to defect from the national military service through various inducements.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eritreans are second only to Syria as the largest number of asylum seekers in Europe this year, totalling some 37,000 so far in 2014, according to UNHCR, a three-fold rise from 2013. The vast majority are aged between 18 and 24.<\/p>\n
But Eritrea said UNHCR was \u201cpart of the problem\u201d for automatically granting asylum to those who survived the escape out the country, and dismissed its warnings of rising numbers as \u201ccrocodile tears.\u201d<\/p>\n
It said the reports that over 6,200 had arrived in Ethiopia in the past six weeks were part of a \u201csmear campaign\u201d.<\/p>\n
Hundreds cross the heavily fortified and dangerous border into arch-foe Ethiopia daily, with reports by rights groups saying people are struggling under Asmara\u2019s repressive government. The entire national football team has defected twice.<\/p>\n
Asmara said the labelling of its conscription that stretches for years as \u201cslave or forced labour\u201d was \u201cslanderous\u201d. It said the officially 18-month long service is \u201cprolonged only because of Ethiopia\u2019s occupation of sovereign Eritrea territories and its continued belligerence in breach of international law.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in 1991 after three decades of war, but returned to battle in 1998-2000. They remain bitter enemies, with their troops still eyeing each other along the fortified frontier.<\/p>\n
The two countries remain at odds over the flashpoint town of Badme, awarded to Eritrea by a UN-backed boundary commission but still controlled by Ethiopia.<\/p>\n
Eritrea, about the size of England, has a population of some five million people.<\/p>\n
Sudan hosts over 109,000 Eritrean refugees while Ethiopia hosts over 106,000, with thousands more arriving each month.<\/p>\n
In the past Issaias has said those fleeing are only going for \u201cpicnic\u201d and would return.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By AGENCE FRANCE PRESSE | NAIROBI, November 21- Eritrea said Friday the reason thousands of its youth are fleeing the hardline regime is because the UN refugee agency and countries with \u201csinister\u201d motives are tempting them to leave. Tens of thousands have now run away from the autocratic Horn of Africa country, escaping open-ended conscription …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5830,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13,1],"tags":[57],"yoast_head":"\n