Asmara condemns "axis of belligerence"

Eritrea has reacted strongly to accusations by Ethiopia that it is playing a "subversive" role in the Horn of Africa.

In a statement, the Eritrean foreign ministry condemned the "official announcement" by the Ethiopian government that it had formed an "axis" with Sudan and Yemen "to perpetrate acts of subversion and aggression against Eritrea".

Earlier this week, the Ethiopian information ministry issued a statement saying the three countries had "agreed to act together" to stop Eritrea from "destabilising" the region.

Eritrea said this "axis of belligerence against a sovereign state" violated international law and the UN Charter. "Each of the three countries of the Axis has been individually pursuing bellicose policies of aggression and subversion against Eritrea for the past years," the statement said.

It condemned the recent meeting of Eritrean opposition groups in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and said Ethiopia was involved in "irresponsible acts of aggression and regional destabilisation" in the midst of a severe drought hitting the region.

The foreign ministry statement concluded by saying Eritrea did not wish to "exaggerate the capabilities of the Axis, whose individual members were embroiled in serious internal conflicts and crises".

But, it stressed, their "intentions" threatened regional stability and violated international law. "As such, they must be condemned by the international community," it said.

Eritrea's deputy ambassador to Kenya, Teweldemedhin Tesfamariam, added that Ethiopia was trying to "obstruct the [border] demarcation process".

"They [Ethiopia] want to make believe that normalcy is not there in Eritrea and they want the international community to believe there is some sort of opposition force working for them," he told IRIN on Friday. "The reality is they know they are dealing with dead wood."

He also said Ethiopia was "dismayed" by the recent peace deal signed by Somali groups holding reconciliation talks in the Kenyan town of Eldoret. "They are trying to make this real positive development in Somalia take a back seat by concocting stories of instability in Eritrea," he said.

"Eritrea hopes that this time round, the Somali agreement is for real and brings back a Somali state despite all the obstructionism of Ethiopia," he added.

Following a two-year war between Ethiopia and Eritrea, sparked by a border dispute in 1998, the International Court of Justice in The Hague issued a "final and binding" ruling on delimitation and demarcation of the common border.

Eritrea and Yemen also had to seek international mediation over ownership of disputed islands in the Red Sea, known as the Hanish Islands. And lately, Sudan has accused Eritrea of involvement in rebel attacks in the east of the country.

In its latest statement, issued on Thursday, the Sudanese army claimed Eritrea had massed a "large group of forces" at Rabda near the border with Sudan "to offer logistical support
in preparation for its planned and premeditated aggressive operations" against the Sudanese armed forces.

The statement warned that Sudan's army "stands ready to repel any aggression, however large, and is determined to deter traitors and agents of foreign powers".

Teweldemedhin Tesfamariam said he knew nothing about a military build-up in Rabda. "But we do what we want in our own territory," he told IRIN.

"Eritrea has the right to defend itself because the Sudanese foreign minister recently made comments that were tantamount to a declaration of war against Eritrea," he added.

"Eritrea has been dealing with Sudan patiently, believing it had changed its terrorist ways," he said. "It [Sudan] has now taken in the remnants of Al-Qaeda from Afghanistan and Yemen. What the Sudanese foreign minister meant was that they have prepared Al-Qaeda to fight Eritrea from Sudan. The tripartite arrangement is part of this strategy."

See also 'Addis calls for end to Eritrea's "aggressive posturing"'
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