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Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi and the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir have flown into Yemen for talks on the Horn of Africa, diplomatic sources told IRIN on Monday.
The pair are due to meet Yemeni President Ali Abdallah Saleh for discussions on wide-ranging issues, including the situation in Somalia and Eritrea, the source said.
The move comes amid increasing tensions between Sudan and Eritrea, after Khartoum accused Asmara of involvement in rebel attacks in eastern Sudan recently. Eritrea has strongly denied the allegations, and urged the Arab League to intervene and help heal the rift with Sudan.
In an interview with Eritrean radio and television on Sunday, President Isayas Afewerki said Sudan and Yemen were trying to "besiege" Eritrea, but their attempts "showed nothing but their weaknesses, and would wear out in time".
Eritrean Foreign Minister Ali Sayyid Abdallah said war with Sudan was unlikely but stressed that if Khartoum "makes any deliberate military move to strike Eritrea, we will defend ourselves".
"We have become used to such accusations from Khartoum," he told the London-based 'Al-Sharq-al-Awsat' newspaper. He said Eritrea would work to find a political solution to the problems with its neighbour.
Yemen and Eritrea have also disputed ownership of the Hanish Islands in the Red Sea. The International Tribunal in The Hague stepped in and awarded most of the islands to Yemen, but allowed Eritrea to fish in the area.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
