Horn anti-terror axis formed

The leaders of Ethiopia, Sudan and Yemen formed an anti-terror axis on Monday in the fight against extremists operating in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles Zenawi announced the pact as the three countries attempt to shed their image as a haven for Islamic militants. They will share information and experience in fighting terrorists in a bid to boost efforts to hunt down suspected al-Qaeda members or supporters in the Horn, the leaders said. Meles said security forces and intelligence services had already spent the last year working together to foil terrorists planning potential attacks. “Our cooperation has focused on exchange of information with regard to terrorists operating in either one of these three countries or in the region as a whole,” Meles told a press conference in Addis Ababa. “This is progressing very well,” he added. His comments came as the three countries signed a tripartite treaty focused on boosting economic, political and security cooperation. Sudanese President Omar Hasan al-Bashir and his Yemeni counterpart Ali Abdallah Saleh were in the Ethiopian capital for the day-long summit. The nations agreed to set up the new pact in the Yemeni capital Sanaa in October last year. Among groups the three countries will target is the Somali extremist group Al Ittihad which has been linked to Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda terror network. Al Ittihad, which operates from Somalia, was placed on the US list of terrorist groups after the September 11 attacks. It has been accused of harbouring al-Qaeda terrorists who fled Afghanistan after the collapse of the Taliban. “They are and continue to be a threat,” said Meles, adding that the fight against extremists would form part of the global war on terror. The Sudanese president told journalists that he expected peace talks between government and rebel forces being held in Kenya to come to an end in a week. He said the final sticking points of distribution of political power and wealth and the status of three disputed regions would be overcome. Sudan and Ethiopia also accused Eritrea of “destabilising” the Horn of Africa, but said they would welcome Eritrea as a member of their alliance. “It is not a secret that Eritrea is creating huge efforts to create instability in Sudan,” Bashir claimed at the press conference. Yemen and Eritrea have also faced problems over ownership of a group of islands in the Red Sea, known as the Hanish. Eritrea has described the alliance as an “axis of belligerence” and accused the countries of conspiring against the tiny Red Sea state.