Eritrea conspired to attack at AU summit, bankrolls Somali rebels - UN
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By Tesfa-Alem Tekle
July 29, 2011 (ADDIS ABABA) – A UN report released on Thursday accused
the Eritrean government of being behind a bomb plot to attack an
African Union summit held earlier this year in Ethiopia’s capital,
Addis Ababa.
“The Eritrean Government conceived planned, organized and directed a
failed plot to disrupt the African Union summit in Addis Ababa by
bombing a variety of civilian and governmental targets.” states the
report of the Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea.
The intention was to attack the AU’s headquarters with a car bomb as
leaders took breaks, to blow up Africa’s largest market to "kill many
people", and attack the area between the Ethiopian prime minister’s
office and the Sheraton hotel, where most heads of state stay during
summits.
“If executed as planned, the operation would almost certainly have
caused mass civilian casualties, damaged the Ethiopian economy and
disrupted the African Union summit,” the report added further accusing
Eritrea of strategic use of explosives to create a climate of fear,
represents a qualitative shift in Eritrean tactics.
The UN report, says Eritrea’s intelligence personnel are active
elsewhere in the region and the country’s actions posed a threat to
security and peace in the region.
“Since the Eritrean intelligence apparatus responsible for the African
Union summit plot is also active in Kenya, Somalia, the Sudan and
Uganda, the level of threat it poses to these other countries must be
re-evaluated.”
The UN Security Council last year imposed sanctions against Eritrea
for allegedly supporting hard line Islamic insurgents in Somalia
including Al-Shabab - a group believed to have links with the
international terrorism network, Al-Qaeda.
The latest report however revealed that the Red Sea nation is still
engaged in financing al Shabab, via its embassy in Kenya
Ethiopia’s ministry of justice on Wednesday alleged that Al-Shabab
receives 80 thousand dollars from the Eritrea government on a monthly
basis.
At workshop held this week aimed to deliberate ways of implementing
United Nation’s anti-terrorism strategy in East Africa, Ethiopia
justice minister, Berhan Hailu said that Eritrea transfers the money
to Al-Shabab through its embassy in Kenya.
Eritrea has repeatedly denied plotting a bomb attack at AU summit and
any involvement in funding rebel groups in the region.
Araya Desta, the Eritrean ambassador to the UN, told Al Jazeera on
Thursday that the report is "a work of fiction", calling it was a
"fabricated drama" which is "outrageous and ridiculous".
"Eritrea has no record of acts of terrorism. Ethiopians are our
brothers and sisters, there is no reason why we should target them,"
Desta said.
He said that the report shows the UN monitoring group’s bias against
Eritrea and that it is "part of a wider scheme to push for more
sanctions on Eritrea".
(ST)
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