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Instability in East Africa |
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Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Meles fired back today after the UN criticized Ethiopia’s conduct in neighboring Somalia.
“The situation there - as hard as it is - it could do with less hype and exaggeration,” he told the BBC.
The UN says fighting between insurgents and Ethiopian-backed government forces in the capital, Mogadishu, has created Africa’s worst humanitarian crisis. The UN humanitarian co-ordinator for Somalia Eric Laroche has dismissed Mr Meles’ criticism. He told the BBC it was hardly surprising that there was a disagreement, since the Ethiopian government was a party to the conflict, while the UN was neutral.
The UN has estimated that 60% of Mogadishu residents have fled their homes.
Ethiopian troops intervened in Somalia a year ago, when they helped government forces oust Islamists from much of southern Somalia.
On Wednesday the UN children’s fund called for the creation of safe zones for about 1.5m children, whose lives it says have been affected by conflict.
But Mr Meles said the UN’s stance was counter-productive and he called on the organisation to play a more “positive role” in the country.
Meanwhile, Ethiopia suffers from serious problems of its own. Economic depression and the threat of renewed war with Eritrea hang over the northern state of Tigray, Ethiopia’s “front line.” Tensions within Eritrea itself threaten to make Ethiopia’s position even more tenuous, as well as further destabilize the region.
Because of the rising prospects of war with Ethiopia, essentially Round 2 of a border conflict that has already killed 100,000 people, tens of thousands of Eritrean students have been conscripted into the army.
Relations with the West, especially the United States, have deteriorated to a historic low point, with the State Department threatening to designate Eritrea, a tiny country on the Red Sea that most Americans have never heard of, as a terrorist state for its support of Islamist rebels in Somalia.
The United States should move with extreme caution in dealing with conflicts in the Horn. Declaring Eritrea a terrorist state would be unhelpful. Rather, the US should work closely with the UN and the African Union to promote, above all, stability and prosperity for the people of the Horn. In concrete terms, that means an end to fighting, an end to the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, and an effort to bring all parties to the table to negotiate an end to border conflicts and Somalia’s civil war.
I can’t see the Bush administration playing a positive role in the Horn of Africa. Read about the blunder that is in the making.
http://www.slate.com/id/2178793/
I agree. It seems we are once again content to prop up a bad actor in the region on terrorism grounds, which of course, never works. If we can’t put pressure on those we have most leverage over, then even if others (the African Union, the UN) can put pressure on other parties, things will never change. See Israel/Palestine for an example…
“The United States should move with extreme caution in dealing with conflicts in the Horn. Declaring Eritrea a terrorist state would be unhelpful. Rather, the US should work closely with the UN and the African Union to promote, above all, stability and prosperity for the people of the Horn. In concrete terms, that means an end to fighting, an end to the Ethiopian occupation of Somalia, and an effort to bring all parties to the table to negotiate an end to border conflicts and Somalia%u2019s civil war.”
What a remarkable qoute!
Again, I appreciate Mr. Alex for your unique analysis. In fact, I, as a member of a newly formed Somali organization (Somali Cause) believe in the last part of your article as the solution for the ongoing crisis in the Horn. Your objectivity in analysing the events in the region amazes me each time I visit your website. Thank you very much, and please keep up the good works!
Ibrahim
i was filming and making a documentary about eritrea for the last 5 months just gott back ..i think eritrea is the only country trying to find ways to end the misery of eastafrica forever ..what the president (essays afewerki) doing to achive his goals could be the hard way but also the only way ..i hope his determination and strength of his ppl wakes the new government in us up and let the east africans go …coz they deserve it