From: Berhane Habtemariam (Berhane.Habtemariam@gmx.de)
Date: Tue Mar 16 2010 - 15:30:03 EST
Eritrea rejects U.N. report it backs Somali rebels
Tue Mar 16, 2010 6:40pm GMT
* U.N. says Eritrea's support for rebels continues
* Eritrea points to lack of hard evidence
By Jeremy Clarke
ASMARA, March 16 (Reuters) - Eritrea has responded angrily to a report by a
U.N. monitoring group alleging that the Asmara government is still
supporting insurgent groups fighting the Somali administration.
In December, the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea,
accusing it of backing rebel groups in Somalia, where at least 21,000 people
have been killed in violence since the beginning of 2007.
The latest report by the U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia, which is being
discussed by the Security Council this week, said Eritrea had continued its
support in 2009.
In a statement issued on Monday, Eritrea's Foreign Ministry described the
allegation as "concocted, baseless and unfounded", adding: "It is
indisputable that Eritrea had not and would never extend any support to
Somali armed groups.
"The government of Eritrea challenges those quarters indulging in utterly
baseless allegations through fabricating and disseminating naked lies in the
name of the U.N."
Eritrea repeated its call for hard evidence to be presented publicly and
demanded an independent platform allowing it to respond.
EVIDENCE THINS
The new U.N. report softens accusations made previously, saying there is
less evidence Eritrea is still providing military support to insurgents.
However, it says Asmara continues its diplomatic, logistical and financial
support for the rebels.
"By late 2009, possibly in response to international pressure, the scale and
nature of Eritrean support had either diminished or become less visible, but
had not altogether ceased," the report said.
"It is the opinion of the Monitoring Group that the government of Eritrea
has continued to provide political, diplomatic, financial and -- allegedly
-- military assistance to armed opposition groups in Somalia."
A Western diplomat told Reuters it was regrettable the charges against
Eritrea could not be more widely substantiated, but said there was evidence
that could not be made public for security reasons.
Asmara says the lack of hard evidence makes the sanctions resolution
illegitimate and illegal.
When Ethiopia, Eritrea's neighbour and arch-enemy, invaded Somalia in 2007
to drive out an Islamist administration in the capital, some of the leaders
sought refuge in Eritrea.
The Islamists formed an opposition party but the leadership split when
Sheikh Sharif Ahmed joined a Western-backed peace process and was elected
president of Somalia in January 2009.
His former ally, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, left Eritrea last year and is
now leader of the Somali insurgent group Hizbul Islam which is fighting
Ahmed's government. (Additional reporting by Abdiaziz Hassan in Nairobi)
(Editing by David Clarke and Andrew Dobbie)
C Thomson Reuters 2010 All rights reserved
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