The U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea, which investigates violations of an arms embargo on both nations, said in a report to the Council, seen by Reuters, that it had found no evidence of direct Eritrean support for al Shabaab in the last year.

The Council imposed the embargo on the tiny east African state of Eritrea in 2009 over concerns its government was providing finance and weapons to al Shabaab – charges Asmara denied. The Monitoring Group now says that support has evaporated.

This was “a symptom of growing friction between the authorities in Asmara and al Shabaab’s leadership” as well as the “result of enhanced international scrutiny, which has made direct support … a much riskier undertaking than in the past”, said the report, which is scheduled to be published this week.

“Although it is possible that the Eritrean authorities have continued to provide financial and other forms of assistance to (Somali) armed opposition groups, without their activities being detected, it is the Monitoring Group’s assessment that any such assistance is negligible,” the report said.

Instead, the panel presented evidence that Asmara deployed Ethiopian rebel groups via Somalia, sold weapons to smuggling rings in Sudan that do business with Palestinian arms dealers, and imported spare parts for its air force.

The report also alleged that ethnic Afar rebels responsible for the killing of five European tourists in eastern Ethiopia in January were hosted and trained in Eritrea, though there was no evidence the Red Sea state had a direct role in the killings.

It said the escape last year of Djiboutian prisoners of war held in Eritrea proved Asmara had violated a U.N. resolution calling on it to disclose information on their whereabouts after their capture following a border clash in 2008.

“Eritrea has failed to comply with Security Council resolutions and remains a destabilizing influence across much of the region,” the report said.

The Red Sea state has previously rejected these allegations and has called for the replacement of the panel’s members over what it calls their bias in favour of its arch-foe Ethiopia. Eritrean envoys to the AU declined to comment specifically on the latest U.N. report.

Al Shabaab has controlled much of southern Somalia since 2007, imposing a strict version of Islamic law in areas under its control. But over the last year it has been forced out of the Somali capital Mogadishu and other parts of the south by the coordinated military operations of U.N.-backed African troops.

“TOO EARLY TO LIFT SANCTIONS”

Last year, the Monitoring Group alleged Eritrea was behind a failed plot to bomb an African Union summit in Ethiopia, had bankrolled known members of al Shabaab in Kenya and had been involved in the smuggling of weapons through Sudan and Egypt.

As a result, the Council pr

Kenya’s Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula said on Friday he had summoned the Eritrean ambassador and “raised concerns about intelligence that we have and information available that there is a possibility that arms supplies are flowing from his country to al Shabaab”.

He said Kenya, whose troops are fighting the al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab militant in southern Somalia, had “a series of options”, which he did not specify, to deal with the alleged arms supplies.

“The Government of Eritrea finds extremely regrettable the remarks attributed to the foreign minister of Kenya … regarding the fabricated story of Eritrean arms shipments to al Shabaab in Somalia,” Eritrea’s foreign ministry said in a statement dated November 5.

Eritrea denies arming the fighters and says such allegations are stirred up by regional rivals to sully its reputation.

It described Kenya’s implied threat of action as “unfortunate” ahead of an anticipated visit to Kenya by its own foreign minister.

Kenya deployed troops inside Somalia three weeks ago to crush the al Shabaab militants it blames for a wave of kidnappings in Kenya and frequent cross-border attacks.

Nairobi has warned of air strikes on a number of rebel bases across southern and central Somalia in response to what is said were reports Eritrea had flown consignments of weapons into the militant enclave of Baidoa.

One of al Shabaab’s top commanders told worshippers on Sunday the insurgents would not surrender their key strongholds, even if subjected to aerial bombardments.

“Kenya’s fighter jets will never seize our towns, but they may injure or kill a few people,” Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys said in Almada, in the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu, after leading prayers to mark the Muslim festival of Eid.

Kenya has long cast a wary eye at its lawless neighbour, awash with weapons and mired in conflict since the overthrow of a dictator in 1991.

The region’s biggest economy is so worried by the anarchy in Somalia, where first warlords then Islamist insurgents have stepped into a political vacuum, that it has quietly supported the birth of a semi-autonomous Somali province dubbed ‘Jubaland’, comprising the three Somali regions bordering Kenya.

The status of Jubaland, also sometimes called Azania, is not clear. Somalia’s government says it does not support the Jubaland initiative.

Kenya’s military has denied its incursion was carefully planned for years with a view to annexing Somali territory that could act as a buffer zone between the two countries.

Al Shabaab thinks otherwise.

“Let them not deceive you with Azania. It is a Christian state, take care,” said Aweys, whose militants are fighting to impose a hardline version of Sharia law on Somalia.

iin Reuters.

Africa-times-news

The Red Sea FC players were due to leave the country on Saturday after their elimination from the Cecafa club championship at the semi-final stage but a head count at their departure point revealed that half the squad were missing.

“Thirteen out of 26 players of the Eritrean team have disappeared,” secretary general of the Tanzania Football Federation (TFF) Angetile Osiah told Reuters.

“We have reported the matter to relevant law enforcement authorities for investigation.

“Some team members colluded in the incident by trying to stamp the passports of the missing players at airport immigration checkpoints but when a physical head count was conducted, it was discovered that 13 players were missing.”

Illegal immigrants from Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia often use the east African country as a transit point to South Africa and elsewhere.

It is not the first time members of an Eritrean team have vanished after a tournament outside the country. In 2009, 12 members of the national squad disappeared in Kenya after competing in a regional tournament.

Reuters

There was no immediate comment from the Eritrean government and the report could not be independently confirmed.

Rebel spokesman Yasin Mohamed said the attacks by the Red Sea Afar Democratic Organization (RSADO) and the Eritrean Salvation Front (ESF) rebels were in retaliation for the repression of the Afar minority and others by the government.

“The joint forces earlier today, made a surprise attack at the camp of 13 sub-division of the 2nd brigade at the vicinity of Kokobay, killed 13 and wounded 20 others,” Yasin said.

He said a separate attack killed 12 members of an intelligence unit and wounded 18 others in Kermeti area.

The United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea last week for arming and supporting Islamist insurgents in Somalia.

Reuters.

La résolution 1907 a été approuvée par 13 des 15 membres du Conseil. La Chine s’est abstenue et la Libye, seul membre arabe du Conseil en ce moment, a voté contre.

La résolution gèle les avoirs de la direction politique et militaire du pays et lui impose des restrictions de voyages. Elle demande encore à l’Erythrée de retirer ses troupes d’une zone frontalière disputée avec Djibouti et de lancer des discussions afin d’arriver à « un accord acceptable » par les deux pays sur cette zone controversée.

L’ambassadeur érythréen, Araya Desta, a qualifié cette résolution de « honteuse, calquée sur les mensonges concoctés par le régime éthiopien et l’administration américaine ».

« Le Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU a adopté une résolution honteuse qui impose des sanctions à l’Erythrée. Nous n’avons jamais supporté aucun insurgé ni aucune opposition en Somalie. On respecte le peuple de Somalie. On veut qu’il connaisse la paix, la stabilité et l’unité. C’est notre devise, et c’est ce pourquoi on s’est battu depuis le début. Et on continuera à lutter pour que la paix, la stabilité et l’unité règne en Somalie », a affirmé l’ambassadeur Araya Desta.

Concernant le différend frontalier avec Djibouti, Araya Desta a déclaré : « Ça aussi, ça a été concocté par l’Ethiopie pour déstabiliser la région entière. Nous sommes sur nos territoires souverains et personne ne peut remettre en question ces territoires. En fait, pourquoi le Conseil de sécurité parle même de cela ? On ne comprend pas alors que l’Ethiopie occupe notre territoire depuis sept ans », a déclaré l’ambassadeur Araya Desta.

L’ambassadeur adjoint de la Libye à l’ONU, Ibrahim Dabbashi, a estimé que « les sanctions ne sont pas le meilleur moyen de résoudre des problèmes » et l’ambassadeur chinois, Zhang Yesui, a jugé que le « Conseil devrait manier l’adoption de sanctions prudemment ».

Les Etats-Unis ont de leur côté salué l’adoption de la résolution qui vise d’abord à « encourager l’Erythrée à cesser de déstabiliser la Somalie ».

RFI.

The ruling, released after eight years of hearings, means Eritrea has to pay Ethiopia ê12.6 million. Ethiopia disagreed with the amount, Eritrea said it would respect the ruling.
The largest part of the award to Eritrea was ê46 million for loss of property for people expelled from their land by Ethiopia. Similarly, Ethiopia was awarded ê45 million for “human suffering and lost income” for displaced persons.
The Eritrea-Ethiopia Claims Commission, affiliated with the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, said it took into account the poverty in the two countries when making the awards.
“While the compensation awarded to each party is substantial, the commission recognised that it is probably much less than each party believes it is due,” the panel said in a statement on Monday night announcing a ruling had been made. The decision was posted late on Tuesday.
The commission was formed following a December 2000 agreement between the two countries. It has held a series of hearings and issued occasional partial decisions over the years.
The two nations have been embroiled in the border dispute since Eritrea won independence from Ethiopia in the early 1990s after a 30-year war.
Ethiopia said the balance of compensation that Eritrea owed it was too small for its neighbour’s actions.
“This is a very small amount given the gravity of the crime of aggression committed by Eritrea,” Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement late on Tuesday.
It said the government in Addis Ababa would study the details of the final award further and assess how to ensure that Asmara paid what it owed.
Eritrea said it would respect the ruling.
“The government of Eritrea accepts the award of the claims commission without any equivocation due to its final and binding nature under the Algiers Agreement,” it said in a statement on Eritrea’s official government website.
“This is indeed consistent with Eritrea’s track record of respecting arbitration decisions that emanate from its treaty obligations,” the statement added.