Today, 21 Feb 2006 in Keren, unsuspecting citizens were rounded up for compulsory military service. It has been reported that the sudden actions of the Eritrean government has caused chaos, and shattered peace and tranquillity in the city, and has left the inhabitants of the city very angry, and some were weeping all day.

It all started when pupils were having lessons in their class rooms, when troops unexpectedly arrived, and instructed students up to the 6th grade to come out and board the buses. Following the rounding up, 10 buses full of students were seen taking them away to Masawa.

Moreover, married women with no children, and those with children up to the age of 3 years, have also been rounded up in today's government action. Today's rounding up in Keren was reported to be worst than the one in October 2005, both in its rigidity and brutality.

In order to carry out the rounding up quietly, mobile phone networks were disconnected by the government for about 4 hours. Reliable sources have reported that there is a planned 2 more days of intensive rounding up of citizens in the near future.

In a different government action in Asmara, it has been reported that all those who work in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, whether they were demobilised or not, have been instructed by the government to report themselves to Sawa military camp. Instead of announcing the call through the radio or television networks, the government has chosen to post these announcements on walls of some streets in Asmara, in an apparent attempt to hide the bad news and limit public awareness of its actions.
Posted 2/21/2006 b