By Melanie Eversley

The United Nations confirmed Monday that seven U.N. Aid officers expelled by Ethiopia have left the country.

The government of Ethiopian President Abiy Ahmed on Thursday told the officials they had 72 hours to leave Ethiopia, one of the U.N.’s founding members. Ahmed’s administration alleged the officials had been meddling in to the affairs of the country, embroiled in longtime tensions with a rebel group known as the Tigray People’s Liberation Front.

The U.N. says that Ethiopia does not have a legal basis to expel the staffers, The Voice of America reported. The agency’s Security Council discussed the matter Friday and could revisit it this week, according to the news agency.