Somalia wants Ethiopia out
2002-05-18 10:15
New York - Somalia appealed to the United Nations on Friday to impose sanctions on neighbouring Ethiopia, claiming its troops have invaded southern Somalia on several occasions since mid-April.
At least two waves of Somali refuges have fled across the border into northern Kenya in the past month because of "the Ethiopian invasion," Somalia's UN Ambassador Ahmed Abdi Hashi told a news conference.
"I call on the international community particularly to help us, to impose sanctions against Ethiopia ... for violating the Security Council resolutions that have unequivocally mandated the respect for our sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said.
Abdi Hashi said he sent a letter to the Security Council on
Thursday and was waiting for a response.
Ethiopia's UN Ambassador Abdul Mejid Hussein denied his
country's involvement in the fighting, saying the attackers were
Somali extremist groups that wanted to hold onto areas under their control.
"We have not made any incursion or invasions. Whenever Somalis
have a problem they look for a scapegoat; Ethiopia is the easiest
one," he said.
Abdi Hashi accused Ethiopia of invading several regions in
southwestern Somalia, most recently the small town of Bulo Hawo
near the Somali-Ethiopian-Kenyan border on Thursday. He said the
invasions, which have occurred sporadically for several years,
reached alarming proportions in the last few days, with several
civilians killed in the cross fire between battling Somali and
Ethiopian troops.
Abdi Hashi claimed that Ethiopian troops were poised to invade
the southern port of Kismayo.
The United Nations refugee agency said on Friday that some 10 000 people had escaped to the border town of Mandera, in northeastern Kenya, to escape the recent clan warfare. The agency said it would airlift food and emergency aid for those fleeing their homes.
Kenya is already host to some 250 000 refugees, including
140 000 Somalis.
Somalia has been without an effective central government since
opposition leaders united to oust dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in
1991 and clan-based fighting has turned the nation of 7 million
into fiefdoms ruled by heavily armed militias.
A transitional government elected in August 2000 has little
influence outside Mogadishu, the capital.
Abdi Hashi also accused Ethiopia of smuggling weapons into
Somalia to arm militia groups that were favourable to it. He said
that this could destabilise the entire region.
"It is high time the international community stood up to
Ethiopia," Abdi Hashi said. "For the sake of stability in the whole of Africa, for the sake of our people, to develop a vision of good governance ... Ethiopia should be restrained."
Ethiopia, a predominantly Christian country which shares a long and porous border with Somalia, a Muslim nation, has accused
Somalia's transitional government of having links to Islamic
extremists. Somali President Abdiqasim Salad Hassan has denied the claims.
He accuses Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi's government of trying to divide Somalia and of wanting to create a nation ruled by weak clans who would be dependent on Ethiopian support.
On Thursday, Kenyan Foreign Minister Marsden Madoka said his
country hoped to be able to host a Somali peace conference by July. - Sapa-AP
- SAPA