U.N. estimates 300,000-400,000 enslaved in Eritrea

GENEVA (Reuters) - The head of a U.N. human rights inquiry into Eritrea said on Wednesday an estimated 300,000-400,000 people had been enslaved over the past 25 years in Eritrea's system of indefinite "national service". "We probably think there are 300,000 to 400,000 people who have been enslaved," Mike Smith, the head of the U.N. inquiry, told a news conference. He also said he believed Eritrea was still operating a shoot-to-kill policy on its borders to stop people fleeing from the country, many of them heading to Europe as refugees. (Reporting by Tom Miles)