Eritrea will not send peacekeepers to Somalia

MOGADISHU, Feb 10, 2005 (Radio Shabeelle) — The Eritrean government has said that it will not send its troops to Somalia because of security reasons and fear of clashes with Ethiopian troops in Somalia.

Reports received from the regional body, IGAD [Inter-Governmental Authority on Development], says the Eritrean government has resolved not to participate in the peacekeeping mission in Somalia.

Eritrean army officials have stopped attending official military talks of the IGAD member states. [Passage omitted]

This issues comes a day after the Kenyan government said that it would not deploy peacekeepers in Somalia, citing unspecified reasons, but that it would send international observers.

Material provided by the BBC Monitoring Service.