Eritrea woos UAE investors
By Afkar Abdullah 10 May 2007
DUBAI - Eritrean President Issaias Afewerki on Tuesday lauded the UAE for its continuous support to his country and its contribution to the maintenance of stability in the Horn of Africa (Northeast Africa) region.
Afewerki also urged UAE investors to tap into the huge investment opportunities in his country, where, he said, success is assured.
He invited the UAE businessmen to visit Eritrea to learn about the various investment opportunities in the country.
Afewerki was on a three-day official visit to the UAE. He arrived in the country on Monday to meet the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, to discuss bilateral relations and the ways of enhancing cooperation in the areas of trade and investment.
In an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times in Dubai on Tuesday, President Afewerki said the UAE-Eritrea ties dated back to more than 30 years. He said the late Shaikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan had played a great role in supporting the Eritrean cause. "We will never forget his support for us," he said.
He added: "The UAE has spared no effort in providing financial and economic aid for the development and reconstruction of Eritrea. The Abu Dhabi Development Fund has financed many a development project in our country."
Afewerki said that bilateral ties between the UAE and Eritrea had strengthened over the years. He added that his government, for the last 15 years, had been trying to create a conducive atmosphere to attract invest
Eritrea, Ethiopia: UN worried
09/05/2007 07:28 - (SA)
Geneva - The Security Council huddled behind closed doors on Tuesday to review a report by UN chief Ban Ki-moon voicing "deep concern" over growing tension between Eritrea and Ethiopia.
The 15-member council was considering adopting a non-binding statement on the volatile situation exacerbated by the failure of the two Horn of Africa neighbours to implement an international ruling on a festering border dispute.
Ban said: "I am deeply concerned by the impasse in the Eritrea-Ethiopia peace process.
"The situation is exacerbated by hostile public statements, a volatile military and security situation in and around the temporary security zone and the parties' involvement in other complex regional issues (a reference to Somalia)."
Ban also noted "no progress has been made" toward implementing the ruling by the UN-appointed Eritrea-Ethiopia Boundary Commission on the demarcation of the border.
In November, the panel told Eritrea and Ethiopia to resolve their dispute within a year or face the UN taking the matter out of their hands.
'Withdraw troops'
The UN secretary general said: "The international community would welcome an indication by the government of Ethiopia of its readiness to extend full co-operation to the boundary commission, so that the demarcation of the border can proceed without further delay or preconditions."
The stalemate has left the status of the 1 000km frontier unclear more than six years after a peace deal ended the border war.
On January 30, the Security Council passed Resolution 1741 enjoining the Ethiopian government to accept the border with Eritrea demarcated in 2002.
It also called on Eritrea to withdraw its troops from the buffer zone and to lift unconditionally restrictions it had imposed on operations of UNMEE, the UN force monitoring the border dispute.
The boundary commission had awarded the flashpoint border town of Badme to Eritrea. Ethiopia, however, insisted the ruling be altered since it will split families and villages between the two countries.
Troops back 'weak government'
Resolution 1741 also extended the mandate of UNMEE for six months, to July 31, and reduced its strength from 2 300 to 1 700, including 230 military observers.
Meanwhile in Somalia, Ethiopian troops are backing the country's weak government in their battle against Islamist insurgents and clan fighters.
Addis Ababa blames Eritrea for supporting the Somali Islamist insurgents.
Eritrea dismisses UN calls for border peace
May 9, 2007
ASMARA -- Eritrea Wednesday dismissed UN calls to resolve its border deadlock with arch-foe Ethiopia, and once again blamed the world body and the United States for the stalemate.
"If the organization [UN] is intending to initiate another round of shuttle diplomacy, and seeking mechanisms to replace the rule of law ... it would be advisable to save exhaustion," said a statement in the state-run Eritrea Profile newspaper.
Eritrea gained independence from Ethiopia in 1993 after a 30-year war, but their joint border remains under dispute.
The UN Security Council Tuesday joined UN chief Ban Ki-moon in voicing concern over growing tension between the neighbors and welcomed Ethiopia's apparent acceptance in March to comply with a 2002 ruling on their border dispute.
Asmara, which blames the United States and the UN for failing to implement the five-year-old border ruling, rejected Tuesday's non-binding UN statement.
"The US administration [has] manipulated the paralysis in the United Nations, violated international law and principles, and kept the process hostage to this day," the statement said.
The flashpoint town of Badme, which belongs to Eritrea according to the April 2002 ruling, still remains under Ethiopian control.
Ethiopia has always insisted that the ruling be altered since it will split families and villages between the two countries.
The UN Tuesday repeated calls for Eritrea to withdraw its troops from a 1,000-kilometer (620-mile) buffer zone and to lift restrictions that it has imposed on operations of UNMEE, the 1,700-strong UN force monitoring the border dispute.
Relations between Washington and Asmara have been strained in recent months, but they deteriorated further after Ethiopia, backed by the United States, drove out a powerful Islamist movement from central and southern Somalia late last year.
US officials, along with United Nations weapons experts, have accused Eritrea of supporting Somalia's Islamists.
Eritrea: A better way to secure America’s interest in the Horn of Africa
May 09, 2007 02:00 PM
By Daniel Berhane
London,
UK
European Union has made a bold move in recognizing Eritrea as a key player and its positive effort in brining peace in the Horn of Africa. Following a meeting with Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki, EU development commissioner Louis Michel told reporters that Eritrea was playing an important role in bringing parties involved in the Sudanese conflict to the negotiating table.
He described the meeting with the Eritrean President as an important event, an international signal for the EU and for Eritrea. This is indeed a wise move that recognizes the reality on ground and is at odds to American policy which portrays Eritrea in a different light. Although the EU and many other countries shared Eritrea’s concern about the Ethiopian-American invasion of Somalia quietly, there are more good reasons why the EU is now embarking on the new partnership with Eritrea to solve the problems from Darfur to Somalia.
Eritrea is an influential player in the region due to its success in putting an end to armed conflict in Eastern Sudan, the huge role it played in peace deal reached in South Sudan and its ongoing effort to solve the conflict in Darfur. Eritrea strongly advocates for the reconstitution of Somalia without the intervention of foreign governments. The peoples of Eritrea and Somalia also share historic bond, which will be helpful in any effort to solve the political problem of Somalia.
It is unclear if the US, in a face of crisis in Somalia and the region, turned to the EU to manage the situation, or if it disapproves EU’s new approach. The consequences of flawed US policy on the Horn of Africa combined with several blunders of the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Jendayi Frazer and the despicable acts of the Ethiopian regime, have plunged the region into ever deepening crises and tragic death toll of civilians.
This positive diplomatic move by the EU should be welcomed with enthusiasm. However, the fundamental problem of the region still lingers at the heart of the American policy on the region. Unless the US revises its policy to enforce its control on the region through baptizing the Ethiopian regime as a new regional power, the entire region will certainly endure more conflicts and sufferings.
The Ethiopian regime certainly fits the bill of a mercenary. Human life has no value for the regime and it is prepared to sacrifice so many young Ethiopians to hang on to power. However, this policy is doomed to fail for several reasons. By having the Ethiopian regime as its agent in the region, the US finds itself in conflict with the aspirations and struggles of the peoples of Ethiopia, Somalia, Eritrea and the region as a whole. The fact is while the United States claims to be the champion of democracy and human rights in the world; it is punishing the people of the Horn Africa by supporting a regime that has continued to remain in power by force and obstructing the pathway to peace in the region.
When the regime stole the Ethiopian people’s vote in the election, they went into the streets to demonstrate and were met with bullets. The Ethiopian-American invasion of Somalia has imposed an unpopular government on the people who are sadly going through so much suffering under the hands of the Ethiopians and some Transitional Federal Government (TFG) puppets.
The Eritrean people have been held hostage as the regime through America’s encouragement continues to refuse to implement the final and binding ruling by the Eritrean-Ethiopian Border Commission (EEBC). When will the US realize its investment on the Ethiopian regime is like throwing good money after bad?
The fact is the regime in Ethiopia is purely run by the minority ethnic Tigrayans who only make 6 percent of the population and lack support from the vast majority of the population. Hence the regime can not hold on to power indefinitely while on life support. Similarly, the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia can not be protected from its own people for ever.
Finally, there is a better way for the US to secure its interest and fight terrorism (if terrorism in the region is its main concern). This can only be achieved through equal partnership with all countries involved and take the will of the people into consideration. Sponsoring armed invasion and overthrowing governments to impose your own will only brings about short-term victories and tragic and devastating wars in the long-run.
The USA should also seek a true dialog with Eritrea. As recognized by the EU, Eritrea is a key player and is making positive effort in brining peace in the Horn of Africa. Eritrea recognizes a peaceful Somalia, a peaceful Ethiopia, and a peaceful Sudan is in its own interest and the wider world. Hence if the wish of the USA is to see a peaceful region, it must stop vilifying Eritrea to cover the failure of its policy in Somalia and form a partnership with Eritrea to solve the problems of the region
President Isaias holds talks with Dubai investors, merchants and Governor of Sharjah
shabait.com
May 9, 2007, 17:46
Dubai, 9 May 2007 – President Isaias Afwerki last night held talks with Dubai investors and merchants at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, during which he gave briefings on existing resources and investment opportunities in Eritrea and extended an invitation to physically observe it.
The investors engaged in marine resources, tourism, commerce and other sectors expressed appreciation for the briefings and the invitation and said that they would enhance commitment to invest in Eritrea.
Alongside these meetings, the President conducted interviews with the UAE mass media on regional and international issues. In the interview with Al-Arabia TV station and Khaleej Times newspaper, President Isaias gave extensive replies to questions regarding the situation in Somalia, the Sudanese peace process in general, the role of Eritrea in helping resolve it in particular and Eritrea’s relations with the Arab countries, as well as the Eritrean-Ethiopian border issue.
Stating that if lasting peace is to prevail in Somalia, the Somalis should be given the opportunity to resolve their issues themselves without any external interference, the President underlined that any attempt out of this would only aggravate the matter and not promote a comprehensive solution.
As regards the comprehensive peace process in Sudan, President Isaias stated that peace and stability in Sudan is significant to the region as a whole and to Eritrea in particular. He further stated that Eritrea’s efforts to promote a genuine solution to Sudanese issues emanates from a brotherly partnership.
Also today, the President held talks with the Governor of Sharjah, UAE, Sheik Dr. Sultan Al-Khasmi on bilateral relations and objective situation in the region. The meeting was attended by the Crown Prince of Sharjah and other UAE government officials.
The President commended UAE solidarity with the Eritrean liberation struggle under the leadership of the late Sheik Hamdan Bin Zaid Al-Nahyan. He also praised the support of the Governor of Sharjah to the struggle of the Eritrean people.
Both sides agreed to further upgrade the existing cooperation between Eritrea and the UAE. President Isaias also visited educational institutions in Sharjah.
The President returned home today concluding a two-day working visit to the UAE at the invitation of the country’s President Sheik Khalifa Bin Zaid Al-Nahyan.
Eritrea: Eritrea accuses Ethiopia of smear campaign
Sun. April 29, 2007 04:48 am.- By David Odoki.
(SomaliNet) Eritrea on Saturday accused Ethiopia of engineering a campaign to damage and tarnish its reputation ,dismissing Ethiopian claims of Eritrean "terrorist activities" as a ploy to deflect attention from its internal conflicts and fighting in Somalia, the Eritrean foreign ministry accused its neighbor of " war crimes" in Mogadishu.
"Lies and deceit have become daily staples of the TPLF (Ethiopian) regime," the Eritrean ministry said in a statement published in the state-run Eritrea Profile newspaper.
"This precarious situation is becoming increasingly perilous with time," it added, also blaming the United States for backing Ethiopia.
Eritrea again dismissed accusations by Addis Ababa it backs anti-Ethiopian rebels, including Islamist forces in Somalia.
Ethiopian forces helped Somalia's government oust an Islamic movement from the capital and other areas of the country at the start of the year and remain in the country battling Islamist fighters and clan militia.
Eritrea also denied involvement in last month's abduction of Western tourists and their guides in Ethiopia's Afar desert, or this week's bloody attack on a Chinese oil facility in Ethiopia eastern Ogaden region.
The statement is the latest in a string of accusations and counter-accusations between the arch-foes.-(Reuters)
Ethiopia facing results of its Somalia adventure
Aweys Osman Yusuf
Mogadishu 25, April.07 ( Sh.M.Network) As the Somali population of Mogadishu is facing decimation, Somali fighters have taken over the city of Kisimayo. Nonetheless, Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said military operations to clean Somalia of Islamist extremists were going well.
Despite reports of wounded dying in streets and shelled homes and of hundreds of thousands of internally displaced, camping in the open without shelter nor emergency supplies, Zenawi insisted that there are "no mass casualties of the type that the so-called human rights organisations have been reporting".
"I would be very surprised if it were to take us more than a week or two to completely clear Mogadishu", Zenawi added. By now, some 500 thousand residents of Mogadishu have fled, while armed fighters, drawn largely from the huge Hawiye tribe, have flocked into the capital, determined to drive the Ethiopian invaders out.
Meanwhile, the destabilizing results of the Ethiopian offensive in Somalia are spreading into Ethiopia itself: the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) claimed responsiblity for a raid carried out in an eastern Ethiopian oil field, where a group of about 200 guerrilla fighters massacred 65 Ethiopians and 9 Chinese in their sleep.
From the beginning of its Somalian adventure on 31st December last year, Ethiopia had been warned that any prolongued military presence in Somalia would have sent a message of incitement to the Ogaden tribes in Ethiopia, who are closely linked to Somali tribes on the other side of the border. Meles Zenawi immediately blamed the Eritrean government of being behind the ONLF's actions.
(Arabmonitor)
Shabelle Media Network Somalia
Al-Bashir praises Eritrea for mediation role in realizing peace in Sudan
April 23, 2007 Source: Xinhua
Sudanese President Omer al- Bashir and Eritrean President Issayas Aferwerki held talks on Sunday on bilateral relations and the implementation of a Asmara- mediated peace agreement in eastern Sudan.
During the summit meeting, al-Bashir praised the efforts exerted by Eritrea for the peace in Sudan, saying that these efforts had shown Eritrea's desire for realizing security and stability in Sudan and paving the way for the country's development.
He reiterated his government's commitment to implementing the Asmara Peace Agreement, which was signed on Oct. 14, 2006, in the Eritrean capital between the Sudanese government and the rebel Eastern Front to end a decade-long civil war in the eastern part of Sudan.
Al-Bashir, meanwhile, promised that his government would continue the efforts for realizing the peace in the western Sudanese region of Darfur on the basis of the Darfur Peace Agreement (DPA), which the government signed with a rebel faction on May 5, 2006, in the Nigeria capital Abuja.
He expressed appreciation of Eritrea's efforts for persuading the Darfur rebel movements, which had first refused to sign the DPA, to join the peace process.
Aferwerki, for his part, reiterated Eritrea's desire for realizing the peace in Sudan, saying that "the peace in Sudan is a part of the peace in Eritrea."
He also stressed his country's support for the Sudanese government's efforts to resolve the problems in eastern Sudan and Darfur, calling for a resolution of all the problems in Sudan without foreign interference.
Arriving in Khartoum on Saturday on a three-day official visit in Sudan, the Eritrean president toured Jaba, the capital of southern Sudan, on Sunday.
Hostages were never in Eritrea
23/04/2007 (SA)
Asmara - Eritrea on Monday dismissed reports that eight Ethiopian hostages seized last month in the remote Afar desert had been released in Eritrea, saying they never left their own country.
"It was an Ethiopian matter, of Ethiopians being kidnapped by Ethiopians," said Information Minister Ali Abdu.
"Eritrea had nothing to do with it," Ali told AFP.
On Sunday, Ethiopian state-media said the remaining hostages were released in Eritrea.
But Ali said the claims of Eritrean involvement were designed to divert attention from its own internal opposition.
"Why should these people put the name of Eritrea in every statement they make?" Ali said. "I am afraid if tomorrow an earthquake happens in Ethiopia, then Eritrea will be blamed. For them, it is a public relations exercise to damage our name."
The Ethiopian drivers and guides were abducted at gunpoint with a British embassy-linked group of three men and two women on March 1 in northeast Ethiopia, but the Europeans were freed after 12 days.
Ethiopia and Eritrea fought a bitter territorial war between 1998 and 2000 and are still at odds over their unresolved border dispute.
Sudan, Eritrea presidents to meet over Darfur
April 20, 2007
KHARTOUM -- Sudanese President Omar Hassan Al Bashir and his Eritrean counterpart will Saturday discuss how to kick-start peace talks with rebels who refused to sign a peace accord to end the violence in Darfur.
The visit by President Issaias Afewerki, who has long mediated between Khartoum and holdout rebel groups, is part of "efforts for a political solution in Darfur to include the non-signatories," Sudanese presidential advisor Mustafa Osman said Thursday.
"We have always been ready to hold talks with any group, wherever and without conditions, but it is the United States and Great Britain that are putting a spanner in the works," Osman said after London and Washington Wednesday threatened Sudan with sanctions, accusing it of not doing enough to end the conflict.
A peace deal was signed in May 2006 between Khartoum and just one of three negotiating Darfur rebel factions, with the aim of ending the conflict.
At least 200,000 people have been killed in Darfur and more than 2 million driven from their homes, according to the United Nations. Khartoum disputes those figures, but some sources say that the death toll is much higher.
Osman also said that Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno would visit Khartoum in the coming days, to smooth bilateral relations that nosedived after deadly border clashes between forces of the neighboring countries earlier this month.
Asmara sent an envoy to Tripoli last week to join talks between Sudanese and Chadian officials aimed at easing tensions.
Chad has since apologized for the cross-border action of its forces, explaining that it was not deliberate and that they were in hot pursuit of rebels who had just attacked several Chadian villages.
Sudan says that it lost 17 of its troops in the attack and the Chadians say that 30 were killed overall.
Chad and Sudan accuse each other of supporting rebel forces in their respective territories amid international fears that the continuing strife in Sudan's western Darfur region will spill over into Chad and ignite a regional war.
"The normalization of Sudanese-Chadian relations is an essential element in the search for a solution in Darfur," Osman said Thursday.
A confidential TPLF document
Indian Ocean Newsletter No 1211 31/03/2007
"According to information obtained in Addis Ababa by The Indian Ocean Newsletter, the Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has written a 22 page document entitled Tigray in the new Millenium calling for a strengthening of the construction of a Tigray Regional State which is in a position to survive on its own means if necessary. This text was approved by Seyoum Mesfin, Abay Tsehaye and Sebhat Nega and is now circulating in the executive circles of the Tigray Peoples Liberation Front (TPLF, hard core of the Ethiopian Peoples Revolutionary Democratic Front in power in Addis Ababa) as a confidential document. According to our sources, it lists the various infrastructure projects already completed in Tigray, laying special emphasis on the Tekezie hydro-electric dam for its role in the electrification of the country, calls for the expansion of other sectors of activity in this region in the North of Ethiopia and praises the close relations between the Tigray Regional State and China. This text also considers that the Tigrayan Diaspora abroad should be educated and mobilised to invest in this regional state. Finally, it stresses the need to establish close relations with certain Eritrean opponents. This theoretical assemblage is similar to the thesis in favour of creating an independent state, coupling Ethiopian Tigrayans and Christian Eritreans from the high plateaux. The idea of such a Tigray-Tigrigni State was favoured two decades ago by certain Ethiopian Tigrayan and Eritrean nationalists. "
Tadesse targeting Half Marathon World record in Cáceres
Friday 13 April 2007
Cáceres, Spain - Newly-minted World Cross Country champion Zersenay Tadesse of Eritrea appeared quite confident on his World Record chances at a press conference prior to the “I Medio Maraton Internacional de Cáceres 2016” to be held this Sunday 15 April in the Spanish city of Cáceres in the west of Spain, some 300 kilometres from Madrid. The 25-year-old’s aim is to lower Kenya’s Samuel Wanjiru’s time of 58:35* established in The Hague (Netherlands) last 17 March. “I feel I can break the current standard,” confirmed Tadesse, who headed for the press conference immediately after landing in Spain. Following his stunning win at the World Cross Country Championships in Mombasa 20 days ago, the Eritrean ace spent two entire weeks in his native country where he received Head of State honours, moments he proudly and fondly recalls.
“I was received by the President of Eritrea at the airport in the capital, Asmara, and then I went through the National Stadium and the city in a convertible car, it was amazing. For my fellow Eritreans to see our flag at the top of the flagpole at the worlds in Mombasa was something really important.”
Still fit despite celebrations
The question on everyone’s lips now is: might Tadesse’s shape be affected due to the always tiring celebrations? The answer seems to be an adamant, “No”. His coach Jerónimo Bravo declared that his athlete has kept on doing his severe training schedule including, his coach said, “Many runs at a 2:50 per km. pace which is approximately the kind of rhythm he needs to be break the World Record. On a perfect day, which means nice weather conditions, no wind, a good pace making job, etc. Tadesse would have 99% of chances to do it but we know that scenario is always complicated to happen,” a realistic Bravo added.
In charge of the pace making duties on Sunday will be Kenya’s Peter Kamais and Kiprono Meno plus Ethiopia’s Alemayehu Bezabeh. Kamais holds a 13:19.19 5000m track performance and his task will be to cover the first four kilometres at the very demanding required pace (2:47/km) while Menjo – a 27:29.45 10,000m specialist – and the promising 20-year-old Bezabeh will try to pace Tadesse until the 10km mark in the 27:45-27:50 region.
The race will consist of three loops of slightly more than seven kilometres to complete the distance of 21.097 km. Tadesse’s main challengers should be Kenya’s World Road (20km) bronze medallist Wilson Kiprotich Kebenei and his compatriot Joseph Maregu, who clinched a fine win last 11 March at the Paris Half Marathon, clocking 1:00:22. Eritrea’s Yared Asmeron, fresh from a 1:00:28 victory at the “Azkoitia-Azpeitia” Half Marathon barely a fortnight ago, and Zimbabwe’s Cuthbert Nyasango - 22nd in Mombasa - will likely complete a quality top-five on Sunday.
Weather forecasters predict a nice day with temperatures in the 15-20ºC range at the time of the event.
“There are two bends in the circuit which are too close, but our worst enemy on Sunday could be the wind. Let’s hope it doesn’t appear,” Tadesse said, echoing the sentiments of his coach Bravo.
US blamed for border impasse
ASMARA 12 April 2007- Eritrea has accused the United States of blocking the implementation of a ruling on its border dispute with arch-foe Ethiopia.
Yemane Gebremeskel, director of Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki’s office, said Washington had stopped the United Nations Security Council from enforcing the 2002 border ruling by an independent panel.
"It boils down to the policy of the US government, for reasons that are not easy for us to understand," Yemane told reporters, on the eve of the fifth anniversary since the end of a bitter border conflict with Ethiopia.
"The US administration has preferred not to allow the decision to be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the agreement."
Washington dismisses such accusations, and in a State Department report last month it blamed Asmara for using the border dispute to justify restrictions on civil liberties despite international efforts to resolve the situation.
The panel’s decision awarded the flashpoint border town of Badme to Eritrea, but Ethiopia says the ruling must be altered since it will split families and villages between the two countries.
The result has been that the 1,000-kilometre border remains undemarcated and a source of constant tension in the region.
Yemane warned that failure to enforce the decision by the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission - due to disband in November - could result in as serious a crisis as that in the war-torn nation of Somalia.
"If conflict erupts it is going to be equally grave and involve the loss of life," Yemane warned.
Sapa-AFP
Ethio-Eritria conflict must end
THE HAGUE - A United Nations (UN)-appointed panel has told Eritrea and Ethiopia to resolve a six-year border dispute within a year or face the UN taking the matter out of their hands.
Eritrea and Ethiopia both last week rejected plans by the panel, the Eritrea Ethiopia Boundary Commission, to demarcate their contentious frontier on paper.
The stalemate has left the status of the 1,000-kilometre border unclear six years after a peace deal and raised tensions, heightened by UN reports that both nations are militarily active in Somalia.
But the panel said it would not let the dispute run beyond November 2007, when it would rule on boundary points closely following a delimitation decided in 2002.
"If, by the end of that period, the parties have not by themselves reached the necessary agreement and proceeded significantly to implement it (...) the commission hereby determines that the boundary will automatically stand as demarcated by the boundary points" defined by the panel, it said.
The commission’s warning comes amid growing tension between the two countries that many fear could lead to a renewal of their war and spill over into Somalia, threatening a wider regional conflict.
When a border war between both countries ended in December 2000, they pledged that they would implement any frontier decision by the panel.
While Eritrea accepts the panel’s current plan, which awarded it the flashpoint town of Badme, but wants it to be physically laid out, Ethiopia, which rejects the boundary, said the commission was acting outside its mandate.
Eritrea last week warned that the current stalemate was "not sustainable" and refused to rule out a new war with its arch-foe Horn of Africa neighbour.
At the same time, Asmara repeated denials that Somalia had become a proxy battleground for it and Addis Ababa amid reports the two countries are backing rival factions there to settle scores from their bloody 1998-2000 conflict.
Last year, Asmara restricted patrols by the UN Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (Unmee) and then expelled all of its North American and European staff, rebuffing UN Security Council demands to reverse the steps.
Since September, Eritrea has expelled five Unmee staff for alleged espionage, and sent troops into a demilitarised buffer zone along the border in what the UN said was a "major breach" of the 2000 ceasefire.
Sapa-AFP
The Fear and terror War will Resume in Somalia
April 10th, 2007 - Violence has increased while more than 143,000 people have fled Somalia’s capital, Mogadishu, in just the last week when escalated fighting left at least 500 people dead, bringing the total since the beginning of February to 150,000, the United Nations refugee agency in Nairobi said.
The spokesman for Hawiye ceasefire committee in Mogadishu told us that the US government is behind what is going on in Southern Somalia.
"The US government will be held accountable for the problems in the country by the Somali people," said Qoorgaab, adding "the US supports the Ethiopian aggression against Somalia." Why the UN, he said, is silent on what is going on Mogadishu and watches the carnage on the civilians in the capital.
Logistical problems and lack of technical support are holding back deployment of troops to war-torn Somalia, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) has said.
Though member states have contributed half of the required 8,000 troops, there is no support for their deployment.
Kenya’s Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Mr Thuita Mwangi, has called for a diplomatic campaign to convince the international community to support the countries contributing troops. The European Union has already pledged assistance, while the UN is discussing logistics with IGAD.
“While pledges for contribution of peacekeeping troops have reached half, there has been delay in their deployment because of lack of technical assistance, training, financial and logistical support to the contributing countries,” Mwangi said.
Mwangi’s speech was read by the Director of Political Affairs in the ministry, Mr Thomas Amolo, during the official opening of the 26th Session of the IGAD Committee of Experts at Grand Regency Hotel, Nairobi.
He, however, said the success of IGAD also depends on member states meeting their financial obligations.
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