The voluntary repatriation of more than 160,000 Eritrean refugees, many of whom have been in exile since the 1960s, from Sudan was to resume toward the end of the week, a UNHCR spokesman said on 19 October.

With European Union (EU) ambassadors to Eritrea about to leave, following their recall by their home governments "for consultations", and with more arrests of opponents witnessed in recent days, the Eritrean government has defended a recent crackdown on its opponents and the media.

With European Union (EU) ambassadors to Eritrea about to leave "for consultations",the Eritrean government has defended a recent crackdown on its opponents and the media.

The government of Eritrea has asked Antonio Bandini, the Italian ambassador in Asmara, to leave the country following European Union (EU) protests over alleged human rights violations in Eritrea in the last two weeks.

The World Association of Newspapers and the World Editors Forum have written a letter of protest to Eritrean President Isayas Aferwerki to express their "serious concern at the government's closure of Eritrea's eight private newspapers". The letter was sent in response to the indefinite closure on government orders of the country's free press last week.

The human rights organisation, Amnesty International, has expressed concern about the welfare of 11 former government officials who were arrested in Eritrea earlier this week.

The Eritrean government arrested six former members of the ruling party and closed eight privately run newspapers on Tuesday. An Eritrean official told IRIN that the six had been arrested "for putting the country in danger and causing confusion". He confirmed that the privately run newspapers had been "suspended temporarily", but would be allowed to reopen "once they learn to abide by Eritrean press laws".

The presence of land mines and absence of basic services continue to prevent the successful return of internally displaced people (IDPs) to their homes in war-affected areas of Eritrea. The Information Coordination Centre (ICC - a joint UN/Eritrean Refugee and Rehabilitation Commission - ERREC - body) said in its July update that ERREC had repatriated 106,446 IDPs from 10 IDP camps in the Debub Region to their home villages, but that some 13,000 IDPs who had been unable to return had been moved to six newly established temporary IDP camps around Tsorona and Senafe, southern Eritrea.

On 24 May, Eritreans celebrated 10 years of independence from Ethiopian rule. In an address to the nation, Presidents Isayas Afewerki stressed the need to reduce the size of the army, swollen after the two year border conflict with Ethiopia in 1998, the pro-government Visafric news agency said. The demobilisation of enlisted soldiers and their reintegration into civilian society would reduce government expenditure on the military and generate economic growth, Isayas said.

A former Eritrean Government minister has openly criticised the president. It is the first time in Eritrea that a leading politician has dared speak out against President Isaias Afewerki.