Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Feb 17, SPA -- The United Nations has urgedEthiopia and Eritrea to show restraint near a disputedborder, where the countries each have amassed large numbersof troops, a U.N. spokeswoman said Thursday. The Ethiopian and Eritrean troops are within their ownterritories in defensive positions, but the Ethiopians havecome within 20-40 kilometers (12-25 miles) of the frontierin recent months, said Gail Bindley-Taylor Sainte,spokeswoman for the U.N. Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea. "Our concern is that, if there are troops close to theborder, anything that threatens the stability of thetemporary security zone is of concern," Sainte toldreporters via video-link from the Eritrean capital, Asmara. Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bloody 2 1/2-year border warthat ended in December 2000. The dispute over the1,000-kilometer-long (621-mile-long) border has never beensettled, and 3,800 U.N. peacekeepers currently patrol a25-kilometer-wide (16-mile-wide) security zone. "We are monitoring the situation very closely, but at themoment the situation remains militarily stable," Saintesaid. "We are concerned about the numbers" of troops, shesaid, without giving any figures.--SPA1500 Local Time 1200 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/240240