From: Biniam Tekle (biniamt@dehai.org)
Date: Wed Dec 23 2009 - 07:41:00 EST
UN council set to slap sanctions on Eritrea
Wed Dec 23, 2009 6:16am GMT Print | Single Page[-] Text [+]
1 of 1Full SizeBy Patrick Worsnip
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - The U.N. Security Council was set to impose
sanctions on the Horn of Africa state of Eritrea on Wednesday because of aid
council members say it has given to Islamist insurgents in Somalia.
The United States and other nations accuse Eritrea of supplying al Shabaab
rebels with funds and arms as they fight to topple a fragile U.N.-backed
transitional government in Somalia, a state that has been virtually lawless
for 18 years.
Eritrea has repeatedly denied the allegation.
A resolution expected to garner the support of all Security Council members
but one imposes an arms embargo. It would also impose asset freezes and
travel bans on Eritrea as well as individuals and companies to be designated
by an existing sanctions committee. Those hit would include members of
Eritrea's leadership.
A draft of the resolution obtained by Reuters demands that Eritrea "cease
arming, training, and equipping armed groups and their members including al
Shabaab, that aim to destabilize the region" and also resolve a border
dispute with Djibouti.
The resolution says "Eritrea's actions undermining peace and reconciliation
in Somalia as well as the dispute between Djibouti and Eritrea constitute a
threat to peace and international security."
Eritrea would be the first new country to be subjected to U.N. sanctions
since Iran in December 2006.
Council members say Uganda originally drafted the resolution after the
African Union called on the 15-nation body in May to punish Eritrea over its
role in Somalia. But Eritrea has charged that its true author is the United
States.
"CYCLE OF CONFLICT"
In a letter to the council last week describing the sanctions as "ludicrous
punitive measures," Eritrea's U.N. ambassador, Araya Desta, warned that the
move risked "engulfing the region into another cycle of conflict as it may
encourage Ethiopia to contemplate reckless military adventures."
Eritrea's regional rival, Ethiopia, invaded Somalia in 2006 with tacit U.S.
backing to rout an Islamic courts movement from Mogadishu. It withdrew its
troops earlier this year.
In a telephone interview with Reuters last week, Desta insisted that "many
African nations do not support the idea of sanctions." He said Eritrea was
urging the AU to hold another meeting next year to discuss the sanctions
issue.
Despite official AU support for sanctions against Eritrea, the
organization's current chair, Libya, is expected to be the only Security
Council member not to vote for the resolution. Libya has a two-year seat on
the council, but holds no veto.
A U.N. arms monitoring body, set up to record violations of a 1992 arms
embargo on Somalia, has said Eritrea was sending munitions and giving
logistical support to Somali rebels.
There is little sign the latest attempt to establish a central government in
Somalia is proving any more successful than previous efforts since a
dictator was ousted in 1991.
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