Ethiopian Review

Eritrea’s ambassador to the UN, Araya Desta, rejects Western allegations that Asmara is arming rebels in Somalia as “rubbish.”

Desta told BBC on Saturday that the accusations were “totally false,” saying the country has no gain in supporting anti-government movements in Somalia.

“Why do we have to support factions in Somalia?” he asked.

“This accusation is always cooked by some neighboring countries and some big powers in to defame Eritrea,” the official said hinting at US and UN statements expressing concern about the issue.

The comments were made just hours after the British Broadcaster quoted US President Barack Obama’s most senior Africa official, Jonnie Carson, as saying he was alarmed by “credible” intelligence that Somalia’s Al Shabaab fighters received arms and ammunition from the country.

Head of Eritrean President Issias Afeworki’s office, Yemane Ghebremeskel, recently said the country’s policy forbade the placement of any foreign military base on its soil, ISNA cited an article by the London-based Al Sharq Al Awsat daily on Sunday.

“Neither Israel nor Iran have bases in Eritrea. More importantly, Eritrea’s long-standing policy is not to provide military bases to any power,” Gebremeskel said two weeks ago, rejecting the allegations as “disinformation campaigns.”

Radio France International and a number of other Western media outlets since last November have been claiming that Iranian troops have been heading to Eritrea.

ZHD/HGH