By Patrick Worsnip

UNITED NATIONS, Feb 20 (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council on Thursday condemned what it called "systematic violations" of its resolutions by Eritrea, which has forced a U.N. peace force to withdraw from the border with Ethiopia.

The statement came as the 1,700-member force, known as UNMEE, sought to regroup in the Eritrean capital Asmara after being forced to leave the disputed border it monitored for more than seven years by an Eritrean blockade of fuel and food.

Council members "condemned Eritrea's systematic violations of successive Security Council resolutions as well as declarations of its president," said the statement read by council president Ambassador Ricardo Alberto Arias of Panama.

It expressed support for U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's efforts to resolve the situation and said it was waiting for him to issue a special report "to deal with this issue in a more comprehensive manner."

Council members have said it is unprecedented for a country to stop cooperating with a U.N. force it has formally agreed to host.

On Wednesday, Eritrea accused the United Nations of making false accusations against it.

"The press offices of the United Nations and other private media have been leveling unfounded accusations against Eritrea about UNMEE's situation in the country," the Eritrean mission to the United Nations said in a statement.

The mission started work in 2000 after a two-year border war between the Horn of Africa neighbors that killed an estimated 70,000 people.

It has been stationed in a 15.5-mile (25-km) buffer zone inside Eritrea. But Asmara turned against the mission because of U.N. inability to enforce rulings by an independent boundary commission awarding chunks of Ethiopian-held territory, including the town of Badme, to Eritrea.

The problems between Eritrea and the United Nations began last year with a fuel blockade and reached a crisis point last week when Eritrea cut off food supplies to the U.N. troops, according to U.N. officials.

The troops -- mainly Indians, Jordanians and Kenyans -- first attempted to cross into Ethiopia, but Eritrea stopped them. Last weekend they set off for Asmara and diplomats said on Thursday about half of them had reached the city.

U.N. officials have not decided what to do next.

Western diplomats have said they suspected Eritrean soldiers wanted to get their hands on UNMEE's equipment. The Eritrean mission denied that allegation.

Ethiopia and Eritrea insist they will not start another war, but both have moved tens of thousands of troops to the border because of the dispute over their 620-mile (1,000-km) frontier. U.N. officials have expressed fears that the peacekeepers' departure could spark a new conflict.

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