Eritrea dismisses terror allegations

Eritrea on Monday dismissed allegations by Ethiopia that it is sponsoring "terrorist" groups in the country. “Most of the terrorist attacks and attempts committed against our people and country were executed by the Oromo Liberation Front (OLF) and Al-Ittihad, surrogates and proxy agents of the rogue regime in Eritrea," the Ethiopian information ministry said in a statement at the weekend. “The fact that OLF is still surrogate and proxy in the subversive service of the Eritrean regime is a vivid testimony of its final bankruptcy leading to its death throes,” it added. But the Eritrean ambassador to Ethiopia, Salih Omer, dismissed the allegations. “We have nothing to do with such acts,” he told IRIN. He added that Eritrea was the first country to back the African Union convention to fight terrorism. “We urge other countries to join us in that fight,” he stated. Ethiopia's accusations come amid increasing tension over the impending demarcation of the border with Eritrea. The government's statement called on the Ethiopian public to remain vigilant. The US has launched widespread security operations in the Horn of Africa as part of the war on terror against al-Qaeda militants who may be operating in the region.