US Masking 'Invasion' Of Somalia With Peacekeeping
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Courtesy Of: yahoo News
From: Agence France-Presse
Tue Nov 28, 2006
11:09 AM ET
ASMARA (AFP) - Eritrea has lashed out at the United States for allegedly masking an "invasion" of Somalia by backing a UN Security Council resolution that would authorize peacekeepers for the country.
In a new sign of deteriorating relations between Washington and Asmara, Eritrean Information Minister Ali Abdu accused the United States Tuesday of supporting a proposal that could destabilize the entire Horn of Africa.
"The peacekeeping force has been totally authored by its architects -- the United States," he said. "It is against the wishes of the Somali people, and the US is using the peacekeeping force to cover its invasion in Somalia."
Washington plans to introduce a draft resolution at the Security Council this week to authorize a regional peackeeping mission and ease a 1992 arms embargo against Somalia in order to keep it equipped.
The move is aimed at bolstering the weak but internationally recognized Somali government, which is on the verge of all-out war with powerful Islamists in control of Mogadishu and much of southern and central Somalia.
...Some diplomats and analysts fear that UN Security Council approval of the peacekeeping force, which the Islamists have vowed to fight, will lead to broader regional conflict, a sentiment echoed by Ali Abdu.
"It would have very dire consequences, not only for Somalia, but on security and stability in the whole region," he said. "The solution lies in the hands of the Somalis, who should be left alone to solve their own problems."
His comments come amid growing tension between the United States, which is among those accusing Asmara of meddling in Somalia, and Eritrea, which says Washington is using Ethiopia to fight the Islamists...
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