The authorities in Ethiopia say they're expelling a further two-thousand or so Eritreans whose relatives had already been deported for security reasons.

An Ethiopian spokeswoman said the group -- mostly wives and children who had been allowed to stay on to sort out affairs -- was being taken by bus to the border.

She added that the International Committee of the Red Cross was monitoring the operation.

Ethiopia says it's expelled more than six-thousand Eritreans since the armed conflict between the two countries erupted in May, although Eritrea says the figure is much higher. Eritrea has also expelled several thousand Ethiopians -- a figure the authorities in Addis Ababa dispute.