US diplomat sees proxy Eritrea-Ethiopia war in Somalia
Oct 19, 2006 (NAIROBI) — The U.S. top diplomat for Africa Thursday accused Eritrea of attacking its neighbor Ethiopia through proxies in Somalia, echoing a statement the Ethiopian prime minister made to his parliament.
Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi E. Frazer, however, said both Ethiopia and Eritrea should show restraint to avoid taking Somalia’s conflict regional.
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told his parliament Thursday that Somalia’s Islamic radicals have been massing near the border and if they continued and threatened national security, Ethiopia would have the right to defend itself.
Meles said “jihadists,” or Muslim militants, from Indonesia, Pakistan, several Arab and African countries were working in Somalia alongside the Islamic movement, which controls much of southern Somalia and has sidelined the country’s internationally recognized but weak government. Ethiopia backs the government, and Meles acknowledged for the first time Thursday he had sent troops to support it, saying it was just a few military trainers.
Meles portrayed neighboring Somalia as a proxy battleground with his old rival Eritrea, accusing his northern neighbor of allying with both the Islamic militia in Somalia and with rebel groups inside Ethiopia.
“Eritrea is quite clearly attacking Ethiopia on another front. We have pretty clear evidence that it is a fact they are shipping arms into Somalia,” Frazer told journalists. “Eritrea has always said it is against extremist governments so it is going against its natural interest to be shipping arms to the (Islamic) courts.”
Frazer was speaking at the end of a meeting of the U.S.-led International Somalia Contact Group, held to encourage Somalia’s transitional government and the Islamic movement to remain committed to Arab League-mediated peace talks set for October 30 in Sudan.
“The role of Eritrea in arming the (Islamic movement) and Ethiopia with the threats of intervention are unfortunate because it brings the conflict in Somalia to a regional dimension,” Frazer told journalists. “We have called on both countries to show restraint and act responsibly.”
In his speech to the Ethiopian parliament, Meles said: “There is danger looming. The jihadists are massing their forces near our borders. If this activity continues, and is found to threaten our national security, then our defense forces will have the right and obligation to defend (the country). However, that does not mean that we will declare war.”
Earlier Thursday, Somalia’s Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf told Frazer and the other diplomats in Nairobi the Sudan talks are in jeopardy because his government has lost confidence in Arab League’s mediation.
In a statement obtained by The AP, Yusuf also said the radicals have trained assassins to kill 16 high-ranking officials, including him and the prime minister, using suicide and other methods.
Islamic officials weren’t immediately available for comment.
Yusuf, whose signed statement was read by Foreign Minister Ismail Mohamed Hurre, said this information was based on documents and interrogation of suspects caught after a September 18 car bomb attempt on his life.
Somalia’s transitional government has lost confidence in the Arab League’s mediation efforts and wants the regional development group, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to mediate talks with the Islamic radicals, Yusuf said.
The Intergovernmental Authority on Development that focuses on economic cooperation between seven eastern Africa countries mediated talks that led to the formation of Somalia’s transitional government and parliament in 2004.
“Our reservations and troubling concerns on Khartoum talks, if not urgently addressed by the international community, would render the continuation of the peace process meaningless,” Yusuf said.
At the end of its meeting, the International Somalia Contact Group said in a statement that it supported the idea of both the Arab League and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development co-chairing the talks.
(AP)