The developments came despite sharp criticism Friday from the U.N. Security Council, which condemned Eritrea's "lack of cooperation" with the peacekeepers monitoring the disputed border by obstructing their move into Ethiopia.

Because of Eritrea's continuing refusal, the head of the U.N. peacekeeping mission patrolling the Eritrea-Ethiopia border decided to "regroup" at Asmara, Eritrea, the U.N.'s Department of Peacekeeping Operations said.

About 1,460 U.N. troops were spread among camps at Asmara, Barentu, Senafe and Assab. Now, the 1,000 troops stationed at Barentu, Senafe and Assab are being moved to join the others at Asmara.

"This move will facilitate further relocation out of the country," the peacekeeping department said in a statement. Asmara has the nation's only international airport.

In addition, personnel and two flatbed trucks with armored personnel carriers have been stuck in the far western border post of Om Hajer since Sunday. "Eritrean authorities continue to prohibit their departure," the U.N. peacekeeping department said.

Troops were able to resupply their food through the contractor that had been providing rations, U.N. peacekeeping officials said, but their diesel fuel was still in short supply.

Ban Ki-moon said last week that Eritrea was obstructing the temporary relocation of the U.N. peacekeepers into Ethiopia and restricting their fuel and food supplies for the peacekeepers.

Eritrea's U.N. ambassador, Araya Desta, told The Associated Press his government would allow the peacekeepers to leave Eritrea only after the Ethiopians have "withdrawn from our sovereign territory." He insisted the peacekeepers had adequate supplies of food, though not enough diesel fuel.

Eritrea and Ethiopia have been feuding over their border since Eritrea gained independence from the Addis Ababa government in 1993 after a 30-year guerrilla war.

The action by Eritrea defied the Security Council statement Friday that demanded the nation resume providing fuel and food and allow U.N. troops to move freely into Ethiopia.

A cease-fire agreement in 2000 that ended a 2 1/2-year war between the two countries required both sides to allow an international boundary commission to rule on the disputed border. But Ethiopia has refused to hand over any territory after the commission ruled in April 2002 that the key town of Badme should go to Eritrea.

Eritrea banned U.N. helicopter flights in its airspace in October 2005 in apparent frustration at Ethiopia's refusal to implement the ruling and the lack of U.N. action to press Ethiopia to comply. Two months later, it banned U.N. night patrols and expelled Western peacekeepers—and recently it started restricting fuel supplies.