Eritrea denies backing Islamists

2006-08-04 12:52

Nairobi - Eritrea on Friday denied charges that it was backing Islamists in Somalia to fight a proxy war with arch-rival Ethiopia, which had sent troops to support the weak Somali government.

In a "working paper" posted on an official website, Eritrea rejected as "groundless" claims that it was supplying arms to the Islamists, who had seized Mogadishu and were expanding control in the south of the nation.

It warned that without urgent talks, Somalia could be plunged "into an intractable abyss" that could destabilise the entire Horn of Africa region, but added that Eritrea would not use the country to "settle scores" with Ethiopia.

It said: "Eritrea firmly rejects all groundless accusations peddled against it in the past few months", referring to charges of its support for the Islamists from the Somali transitional government, Addis Ababa and United Nations experts.

Border conflict 'is a problem'

According to the paper: "Eritrea has never seen Somalia as a proxy battlefield to settle scores with Ethiopia.

"Grave as it may be, the border conflict with Ethiopia is a problem between the two countries that cannot be played out in Somalia."

Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a bloody two-year border war between 1998 and 2000 and the peace deal that ended the conflict had yet to be fully implemented with Addis Ababa refusing to accept a new boundary demarcation.

Ties between the neighbours had been badly strained for the past year with Eritrea warning of a new conflict unless the 2002 border decision was put into place.

Analysts had warned that chronic instability in Somalia, which had been without a functioning central authority for the past 16 years, could become a proxy battleground for Ethiopia and Eritrea with implications for the region.

Russian-built planes land in Somalia

Ethiopia sent troops into Somalia last month to protect the Somali government from feared attacks by the increasingly powerful Islamists whom it said were being supplied by Eritrea.

Asmara had repeatedly denied the charge despite a report earlier this year from UN experts monitoring a much-violated arms embargo that detailed Eritrean shipments to Islamic militia in Mogadishu.

Late last month, at least two Russian-built planes landed at the Islamist-controlled airport in Mogadishu, carrying mystery cargos that Somali government officials claimed were military supplies.

The Eritrean working paper said the situation in Somalia was the result of "misguided policies by external actors", including the United States, which backed a warlord alliance against the Islamists, and internal "imprudence".

It said that if those policies continued, "implications for regional peace and security will indeed be grave".

To prevent that, Asmara called for an immediate resumption in stalled talks between the Islamists and the Somali government to be facilitated by the international community in the interests of the Somali people.

- AFP