KENYA: United States is accusing Eritrea of arming the Islamic courts and wants it to stop

The United States accused Eritrea on Thursday (October 19, 2006) of opening another front against its foe Ethiopia by shipping arms to Somali Islamists who are rivals to a Western-backed interim government. "We know that Eritrea in arming the ICU (Islamic Courts Union) and Ethiopia with its threats of intervention are unfortunate because it brings the conflict in Somalia to a regional level and we are calling on both countries to refrain themselves and act responsibly," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer said. Eritrea has long denied any involvement in Somalia, but a U.N. Security Council report in May said it has sent weapons to the Islamists repeatedly in a bid to frustrate Ethiopia with whom it fought a 1998-200 war and remains on bitter terms. "We need to bring pressure to anybody providing assistance to the courts and assistance to federal government needs to be done in a context that IGAD and AU are doing," Frazer added. Ethiopia, in turn, is believed by many to have sent troops across its border to bolster Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf's interim government against the Islamists' expansion. Diplomats fear the Somali crisis could spark a regional conflict across the Horn of Africa, already one of the world's poorest regions due to conflict and its harsh terrain. The Islamists, who took Mogadishu in June and have been expanding across southern Somalia since then, recently declared holy war on Ethiopia, which regards them as terrorists. Addis Ababa has threatened to "crush" them. Analysts believe Asmara has little motive for intervening in Somalia other than to spite Addis Ababa. She urged Ethiopia and Eritrea not to impose their ongoing border row on the Somali crisis.

ITN Source | October 20, 2006

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