“The international community must put Somalia at the top of its agenda and press for change before it is too late. We call on all authorities in Somalia to help us reach those in need and urge donors not to give up on this country.”
Peter Goossens,
WFP’s Country Director for Somalia.
Galal Nassar of the Egyptian Al Ahram Weekly writes:
US bombers began pounding away at Somali positions as battles escalated between the Somali resistance and the combined forces of the invading Ethiopian army and the Somali interim government. Hardly a day passes without a bombing or assassination in Baidoa, capital of the interim government. The Americans are using their usual excuse: they are trying to kill Al-Qaeda leaders. Somalia’s Islamic resistance seems to have mastered the art of guerrilla warfare, taking control of small towns then abandoning them and disappearing into the population. It is a tactic designed to baffle and frustrate a regular army trying to fight a symmetric war. Where exactly is the enemy? Meanwhile, the Ogaden National Liberation Front (ONLF) and the Eritreans are waiting for the right moment to assault the Ethiopians.
Galaal Nassir went on by saying:
The Islamic Courts have something in common with both the Palestinian and the Iraqi resistance movements: religious zeal. But they are more clannish than the Palestinians and less sectarian than the Iraqis. So far, the Somali resistance has managed to put so much pressure on the Ethiopian occupation forces that current battles are likely to develop into a full- fledged war. Factor in the Eritrean-Ethiopian border rivalries, the resurgence of the ONLF, and Ethiopia’s efforts to stir up inter- tribal conflicts in Somalia, and the future seems to be rather dim for the Ethiopians. First of all, Eritrea is likely to escalate things on the borders with Ethiopia. Second, Ethiopia will have to deploy more troops against the ONLF. And third, the scale of resistance in various parts of Somalia may prove too much for the Ethiopians. So why is Ethiopia refusing to withdraw from Somalia?
Galal Nassir concluded by saying:
For starters, Ethiopia wants an access to the sea. Since Eritrean independence, Ethiopia has been landlocked. Should Ethiopia pull out of Somalia and recognise the independence of both Eritrea and Somalia, it would have to learn to live without sea access or regional clout. It is not only money or trade Ethiopia is worried about, but influence and power. Still, if Ethiopia decides to stay in Somalia while being challenged on other fronts, it may be risking utter defeat. At one point, the Somalis may start demanding the Ogaden region back. A protracted war in Somalia may therefore lead to profound changes in Ethiopia’s politics and geography. Ethiopia, let’s keep in mind, is not exactly an ethnically or religiously homogeneous nation. And some local clans may just be tempted to secede or grab power from the central government.
It goes without saying that Galaal Nassir’s analyis are right to the point!
Click here to read the article in its entirety on the Al Ahram Weekly.
The African Diaspora Mobilization Team of the World Bank Group says:
We are writing to seek your assistance in launching an initiative aimed at registering Firms owned by members of the African Diaspora on a World Bank database called eConsultant, so that these Firms become eligible for consulting opportunities within ongoing Bank projects in Africa.
This is further to the Diaspora Open House in Washington DC last November, where one of the commitments we made to participants was that we would provide them with opportunities to be considered for consulting roles with the World Bank. We continue to remain excited by this because we believe that the African Diaspora’s unique perspective, combined with specialist skills, will add immense value to our work on the continent.
This presentation may be of interest to Somali community in Columbus Ohio.
The Ohio State University (OSU) College of Public Health and the OSU Center for African Studies are pleased to sponsoring a presentation on:
“Health and International Humanitarian Assistance: 30 Years of Evolution”
Dr. Ron Waldman, MD, MPH
Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
USAID, Team Leader, Pandemic Planning/Humanitarian Response
Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Time: 3:30 - 5:00
Place: Younkin Success Center, Room 150
1640 Neil Avenue (across from the OSU Medical Center)
Edith M. Lederer of the Associated Press writes:
Somalia’s transitional government urged the Security Council on Friday to speed up its planning for the possible deployment of a U.N. peacekeeping force to replace African Union troops in the war-wracked nation. Somalia’s U.N. Ambassador Elmi Ahmed Duale endorsed a recent appeal by African heads of state to the council “to urgently take steps for the early deployment of United Nations peacekeeping operations to further enhance peace in Somalia.”
Ms. Lederer went on by saying:
Somalia has not had a functioning government since clan-based warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991 and then turned on each other, sinking the poverty-stricken nation of 7 million into chaos. Its weak transitional government, backed by Ethiopian troops, is struggling to quash an Islamic insurgency that has killed thousands of civilians this year. The 1,800 Ugandan peacekeepers who arrived in Somalia in early 2007 are supposed to be the vanguard of an 8,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force, though only Burundi in December sent an advance team of 192 soldiers.
I think the TFG is riding on the wrong horse again! First they asked for Ethiopian troops with all destruction and mayhem that followed in the aftermath of the invasion. Unfortunately, the TFG does not seem to have learned from the mistakes of the past. The solution to Somalia’s tragic political conflict is not bringing more foreign troop to the country. The key to a lasting peace is open and sincere political dialogue whereby the Somali people can sort out their difference through Somali, Arab and Islamic channels!
As the saying goes, “Qofna intuu kuu jiro kuuma soo dhaafo”! Somalia must rediscover its cultural and religious roots.
Click here to view the full dispatch on the Miami Herald.
African Union, briefing Security Council on Somalia, appeals for urgent steps to deploy United Nations peacekeeping force to replace Union’s mission
SC/9249.
Security Council
5837th Meeting (AM)The representative of the African Union this morning conveyed to the Security Council her organization’s solemn appeal for urgent action to deploy a United Nations peacekeeping operation in Somalia, which would replace the African Union’s mission there, to help long-term stabilization and the rebuilding of Somalia.
Briefing the Council on the situation in Somalia, Lila H. Ratsifandrihamanana, Permanent Observer of the African Union, said that it was a cause of shared concern. During the last Summit in Addis Ababa, the Assembly of the African Union had endorsed the proposals of the Peace and Security Council in its communiqué of 18 January. A meeting of the International Contact Group in Somalia (ICGS) had been also organized on the margin of the Summit, and meetings had been held between African Union stakeholders and various groups and personalities, such as Jendai Praser, United States Assistant Secretary of State, a Finnish Member of Parliament and European Union officials, regarding the situation in Somalia.
Xan Rice, East Africa correspondent of the Guardian News paper writes:
The Islamist-led resistance in Somalia is growing in scale and aggression, with insurgents openly taking on Ethiopian troops and African Union peacekeepers in the capital Mogadishu, in fighting that has killed dozens, possibly hundreds, in the past three weeks.
Mr. Rice went on saying:
Few people believe that the situation is about to get better. Several experts interviewed by the Guardian say that the insurgents are becoming more powerful. A military analyst and a western diplomat to Somalia, neither of whom wished to be named, warned that the angry mood and conditions that allowed an Islamist movement to defeat a gang of warlords and take power in Mogadishu last year were returning. “We are on a merry-go-round and it’s back to 2006,” said the analyst. “The insurgents are gaining not only in physical strength, but in moral strength too.”
Mr. Rice concluded by saying:
Analysts say that the situation reflects a chronic miscalculation by the Ethiopian prime minister, Meles Zenawi, who sent his troops into Somalia late last year, and by the US, which backed that decision. The goal was to rout the Somali Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC), which had brought a measure of calm to Mogadishu for the first time in more than a decade, but which was accused by Washington and Addis Ababa of close links to al-Qaida.
Click here to view the full dispatch on the Guardian.
Following is an announcement by The Islamic Relief.
Islamic Relief Worldwide is delighted to announce a conference entitled Islam and HIV/AIDS that will, God willing, take place in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 26 to 30 November 2007. It will comprise of five days of consultations that aim to generate practical responses to the HIV and AIDS pandemic from an Islamic perspective
There are around 40 million people living with HIV and AIDS in the world. The disease devastates individual lives as well as communities, and is increasingly affecting Muslim populations. This conference aims to contribute to halting the spread of the disease and to ensuring appropriate care for people affected by it. The Muslim world has been silent about the issue of HIV and AIDS for much too long, and it is hoped that these consultations will help to change that.
Click here to view a flyer for this conference.
Peter Heinlein of VOA writes:
Washington’s top diplomat on African issues says regional leaders must do more to ease simmering tensions in the Horn of Africa. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer made the comment after leading a team of senior U.S. officials on a tour of Ethiopia’s tense Ogaden region bordering Somalia.
I think the US Government is asking the wrong group of countries to get involved in the tragic Somali political conflict. Neither Kenya nor Ethiopia is an honest peace broker. These countries have strategic and security interests that can only be achieved by keeping Somalia weak and fragmented for many years to come. Hence, it is not only illogical but counter-productive to expect those countries to pull Somalia out of the current quagmire. The US Government should ask Arab and Islamic countries to assist Somalia!
Engaging the Egyptian and Saudi governments could be a good start!
Click here to view the full dispatch by Peter Heinlein.
“I would like to leave behind me the conviction that if we maintain a certain amount of caution and organization we deserve victory[....] You cannot carry out fundamental change without a certain amount of madness. In this case, it comes from nonconformity, the courage to turn your back on the old formulas, the courage to invent the future. It took the madmen of yesterday for us to be able to act with extreme clarity today. I want to be one of those madmen. [...] We must dare to invent the future.”
Thomas Sankara
African Revolutionary
The Guardian newspaper reports:
Rising tensions in the Ogaden region of eastern Ethiopia, combined with chronic instability in neighbouring Somalia, Eritrean enmity, and human rights concerns, are testing US support for the Addis Ababa government led by Clinton-era good governance pin-up Meles Zenawi.
The paper continued by saying:
Keeping a firm hand on ethnically Somali, Muslim Ogaden, the scene of a cold war-era proxy conflict, is a long-standing US objective.
The paper continued by saying:
Eritrea, its bitter border dispute with Ethiopia still simmering, is shipping “huge quantities of arms” to insurgents in Somalia, according to a UN report. Concerns about a spreading humanitarian and refugee emergency grow, even as international aid targets undershoot. And now, far from being “defunct”, Somalia’s Islamist movement may be gaining friends and influence in an increasingly isolated, radicalised Ogaden.
I wonder why so many different US Administrations would side with Ethiopian and deny the people of Western Somalia their right to self determination. After all, the US claims to be “beacon” of freedom in the world!
Could someone explain?
Click here to view the full report on The Guardian.
In a Press Release issued recently, the World Bank says:
The Horn of Africa is one of the regions that has been most prominently impacted by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. This area is characterized by sizeable mobile populations of transport workers, migrants, refugees, internally displaced persons, and cross-border populations, populations that are most vulnerable to contracting HIV/AIDS and other communicable diseases.
However, the Horn of Africa is also where there is hope that something can be done to bring about change. Countries like Kenya and Uganda are bringing down their HIV/AIDS prevalence rates — from 15% and 18.5% respectively in the 1990s to about 6.1% and 6.7% today. The efforts that have seen these figures come tumbling down have been mainly at country level.
The Press Release went on by stating:
Recognizing that movement of vulnerable populations is a major challenge in the region, on June 28, 2007 the World Bank and IGAD signed a $15 million grant to support the IGAD Regional HIV/AIDS Partnership Program (IRHAPP). The program seeks to mitigate the impact of HIV/AIDS among cross-border and mobile populations in IGAD’s member states: Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. The four-year project, which aims to reduce the vulnerability of these mobile populations, was initiated with the support of the World Bank and will be the first to be financed by the Africa Catalytic Growth Fund (ACGF).
By the way, it is worth noting that very little is known about the actual number of HIV/AIDS infected people in Somalia. However, many Somalis went to Eastern African countries such as Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Ethiopia as refugees and those who have returned may have brought the disease to the country. Also, Ethiopian soldiers in Somalia have high number of HIV/AIDS infected among their ranks and that is probably the biggest threat facing the nation at the present time.
Click here to view the full PR on World Bank’s External Website.
SALIM LONE writes:
In the wake of the awful attacks of September 11 2001, Tony Blair’s passionate denunciation of impoverishment in Africa as “a scar on the conscience of the world” convinced many that the west would propel the issue of mass poverty and injustice to the top of the international agenda in the cause of a more stable world.
This week’s news only confirms that it was a misplaced hope. Not a single country in sub-Saharan Africa has met the criteria set by the UN’s millennium development goals on poverty alleviation, the centrepiece of the project. Some observers believe the number of poor, and the intensity of the poverty, has actually risen in almost all countries.
The Somalia Prime Minister; Cali Maxamed Geedi was quoted as saying:
We are very grateful for the sacrifice made by the Ethiopians. Ethiopia is the number one friend of this country.
This is where Cali Maxamed Geedi and the fast majority of the Somali people, including myself turn sharply to different and opposing directions. Contrary to what the Prime Minister said, and I must say, with all accounts, Ethiopia has always been, and continues to be Somalia’s worst enemy. Unless one is blind-folded by myopic tribalist agenda, personal greed or irrational self hate, no one need to be a brain-surgeon to understand that Ethiopia is far from being Somalia’s “best friend†as the Prime Minister ignorantly stated. (more…)
The Gulf News reports:
As Arab efforts to stop the war intensified, the UAE yesterday called on Ethiopia to withdraw its troops from Somalia. The appeal was made by Mohammad Hussain Al Sha’ali, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, during a meeting in Abu Dhabi with Mahmoud Ahmad Jaz, an envoy of Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, who delivered a message to President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. Voicing the UAE’s concern over armed hostilities in Somalia, Al Sha’ali urged Addis Ababa to “halt this war” and called for “the withdrawal of foreign forces from Somalia,” WAM reported. He urged Somalia’s neighbours to “encourage reconciliation among Somali factions”.
Click here to view the full report
The South African News 24 reports:
Kenya plans to hold talks with Somalia’s embattled Islamic leaders in a bid to end escalating fighting with Ethiopian forces backing government, said diplomats on Wednesday. The talks in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Thursday “will seek ways to urgently end the conflict”, said a diplomat, requesting to remain anonymous. The diplomat said that the Islamic courts leadership has confirmed participation. Asked if Ethiopia and the Somali government would participate in the talks, the diplomat said: “We will deal with only those whom we can manage.”
Click here to view the full dispatch.
The Australian ABC Online reports:
The Arab League and the African Union have called for Ethiopian troops to be withdrawn from Somalia immediately. Ethiopian troops are said to be only 30 kilometres north of the capital Mogadishu. Speaking after a joint consultative meeting the chair of the African Union commission, Alpha Oumar Konare, said the three organisations wanted to see Ethiopia’s troops withdrawn from neighbouring Somalia immediately. Mr Konare told journalists at the African Union headquarters that they wanted all parties to cease hostilities and return to peace talks. The Somali Ambassador to Ethiopia, Abdikarin Farah, said it was down to the governments in Baidoa and Addis Ababa to decide when the troops would leave.
Click here to view original article.
Leoul Mekonen, Sudan Tribune
It is clear that the Somali Islamists are enemies to the US but arming and supporting a dictatorial regime with the notion of supporting the enemy’s enemy will not bring positive outcome to the US as well as Ethiopians… It is lunatic to think that the Ethiopian army will crush the Islamists. Instead it will raise the patriotic spirit of Somalis and even those who have had negative attitude towards Islamists will prefer to join them. Any Somali who hates the Islamists will not necessarily like the presence of Ethiopian troops in Somalia but be compelled to join the jihadists when their airport is bombed by Ethiopian aircraft.
Samuel Makinda, Kenya’s Nation
Ethiopia’s invasion is unlikely to bring peace and order to Somalia, or to assist the transitional government to establish an effective administration. Any external force that abandons an inclusive approach and sides with one group against another, is bound to exacerbate insecurity.
If there is fear that the Union of Islamic Courts might invite al-Qaeda terrorists, Ethiopia’s invasion and defeat of the Islamists will not prevent Al-Qaeda operatives from using Somalia.
Editorial on Kenya’s Nation
While it would be silly to reduce the conflict to a mere contest between the ‘Islamist’ Somalia and ‘Christian’ Ethiopia, this religious appendage is appealing to both sides. What the world is witnessing is a resurrection of old tensions between Ethiopia and Somalia, now fanned by proxies… The lifting of the arms embargo on Somalia places the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN in a precarious position as the Somali crisis threatens to escalate into a regional conflict.
Editorial in Algeria’s La Nouvelle Republique
The situation in the Horn of Africa is worrying. No-one predicted this dangerous turn of events. In one week, what was to be a simple internal conflict between the radical Islamic Courts and transitional government, backed by the United States, has gone regional, involving three countries. The explosion in this strategic part of the Horn of Africa will not only last but also spread to other sub-Saharan Africa regions already plagued by devastating conflicts. What is strange is the ’smug’ silence from the Western powers. The easy solution is to use this war as part of the global war against terrorism; if this is the case, we can expect to see another Hundred Years’ War.
Pan Arab Al-Arab Al-Alamiyah
The crushing Ethiopian attack achieves an old dream for Addis Ababa of invading Somalia which stands as an obstacle between it and the Red Sea, especially after Eritrea become independent and started controlling the coast connecting Ethiopia to the sea.
Pan Arab Al-Quds Al-Arabi
The Islamic Courts forces are made up of a group of clean and pure believers who wanted to bring an end to bloody chaos sustained by warlords and militia leaders. It managed to expel highway robbers and the Mafia gang. However, the US, which tore apart the unity of Somalia, overthrew its government, blew up its stability and starved its people, was not pleased with this achievement and moved in to overthrow the courts.
Ethiopia will pay high price for its interference in Somali affairs. Disorder will prevail in Somalia, which will become a safe heaven for Islamist groups from inside and outside Somalia, with the help of the Somali people this time round. Will [Ethiopian Prime Minister] Meles Zinawi succeed in Somalia, in achieving what his masters in USA failed to achieve in Iraq?
Hanan Hamad in Syria’s Tishrin
Ethiopia is repeating Washington’s experiment in Iraq: ‘Self-defence’ but on others’ territories. This flagrant interference in the internal affairs of an independent country that is a member of the Arab League and UN will continue until the mission is completed. Again, the Arabs fail to defend an Arab country against a foreign invasion.
MUSIB NU’AYMI IN IRAN’S ARABIC AL-VEFAGH
Some see Ethiopian interference in Somalia war as a product of US directives. The Islamic and Arab grouping failed to do anything while watching the Western invasion sweeping the Horn of Africa. No doubt the US and its Western allies are the key beneficiaries from the Darfur crisis, the Somalia war and any possible tension in any other spots, because these crises will distract attention from the defeats incurred by the US in Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine.
Basim Sakjaha in Jordan’s Al-Dustur
We have a new war in the region. This is an historic opportunity for Ethiopia to reach the sea and cut Somalia into two. The international situation is propitious as Washington, the commander of the world, supports an Ethiopian-Somali war to get rid of the Islamic Courts. Ditto the regional situation, as Saudi Arabia and the Arab Gulf countries do not want a neighbour like the Islamic Courts which constitute some kind of safe refuge for extremist Islamic forces.
Editorial in Saudi Arabia’s Al-Riyad
A new river of blood is flowing in Somalia. Ethiopia interfered in Somalia because it does not want a neighbour similar to the Taleban and al-Qaeda. The war could have broken out with the express approval of major countries.
Editorial In Yemen’s Al-Thawrah
If this war moves towards regional attrition, the security of the entire region could fall victim to the adventures of some parties.
Source: BBC Monitoring
BBC Mintoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.
The European Union’s Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, condemned Monday the escalating battles in Somalia. Speaking in Brussels, he was quoted as saying:
I express my deepest concern on the reported involvement of foreign forces in Somalia and urge all external players to refrain immediately from intervening militarily in Somali affairs and provoke further violence.
Click here to view the full dispatch.
Stephanie McCrummen of the Washington Post Foreign Service writes:
War or no war with Somalia, Mulunesh Abebayhu wants out. Out of her teaching job, where Ethiopian security forces constantly harass her because of her political views. Out of this city, where hundreds of protesters were killed by police bullets after disputed elections last year. And, if she can manage, out of this country that she believes has plunged into the abyss of dictatorship at the hands of its prime minister, Meles Zenawi, a staunch ally of the United States in the vulnerable Horn of Africa.
“He confuses the Westerners so that he can keep ruling,” said Abebayhu, 54, an opposition member arrested along with an estimated 30,000 others in the sweeping post-election crackdown last year. “Our party does not believe in this war. Our priority is to eradicate poverty, not go to war. Meles knows this war is a way for his system to survive.”
Click here to view the full article.
In an interview he gave to Al-Jezeera Television yesterday, President Isaias Afwerki reiterated that Eritrea did not send troops to Somalia.
Click here to view the full article on Shabait.com
Apee Ojulu editor of Gambela Today writes:
There has been a sort of unanimity among various advisors in Prime Minister Meles Zenawi government that in an all-out-war they will defeat the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) within few days. Zenawi’s Foreign Ministry warning to the UIC that his administration “will not tolerate an Islamist regime in neighboring Somalia†is an indication of that confidence (see MCT, /22, 2006). But hubris is not a military strategy to win a war. It is a risking scheme. Having mechanized forces, countless warplanes, weapons, backing of the international and capacities to destroy every house in Somalia do not prove to win the war. Recent war between Israeli mechanized army forces against a lesser tech wired Iranian and Syrian backed Hezbollah forces have proven this, that technology is not the only mean to win wars. American involvement in Iraq is the other. Both conflicts have proven public support is the key to military success in guerilla wars, not traditional military power alone.
Mr. Apee Ojulu concluded by saying:
Zenawi might have his envisioned his gamble in Somali civil war as an important strategic decision to extract more monetary from Americans, divert attentions of both domestic and international from his authoritarian rule and prolong his regime. Likely outcome of that conflict may come at a price of losing very elements that has kept alive and embolden the already emboldened opposition parties at his expense.
Click here to view article on the Sudan Tribune.
In an editorial the Dubai based Khaleej Times newspaper says:
WITH Ethiopian military incursions into the Somalian territory, in the name of fighting Islamic militants, the situation in the Horn of Africa is getting increasingly dangerous. Regional peace is under serious threat. And it looks like Somalia, one of the hotspots of the continent, would now be used for a proxy war between largely-Christian Ethiopia and its bitter rival, Eritrea, a nation that backs the Islamists.
The paper continued by saying:
Ethiopian incursions are now undermining these efforts. Amid the rolling in of the Ethiopian tanks and the air strikes that followed, the bitter memories of the past two wars have come to haunt the people. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi’s stand that his government has a ‘legal and moral obligation’ to support and defend Somalia’s government is dangerously flawed.
The paper concluded by saying:
The best solution to Somalia’s problems is allowing the country to solve its own problems. Interference from Ethiopia or other nosey neighbours and big powers will only exacerbate the crisis.
I could not agree more! I hope more Arab and Muslim papers will flow suite by highlighting the plight of our people.
Click here to the full editorial on Khaleej Times.
Melez Zenawi the Ethiopian Prime Minister made it clear to everyone that he wants Somalia annexed by forces.
Mr. Zenawi was quoted as saying that:
Our patience was considered as weakness and we were forced to go to war and the alternative left to us is to speedily bring the war to a successful and victorious end in the shortest time possible.
Well, this sounds like a twisted logic! Somalia did not invade Ethiopia.
The San Francisco Chronicle reports:
The aerial and ground assault was the first open admission by Ethiopia’s Christian-led government of its military operations in Somalia, where it has been supporting a weak interim government threatened by forces loyal to the Islamic clerics who control the capital, Mogadishu, and much of the rest of the country.
Click here to view the full report.
Kassa Ayalew; the chairperson of Ethiopian American Civic Advocacy writes:
The undemocratic Ethiopian parliament declared war against Eritrea under the pretext that Ethiopia must “stop Eritrean aggression and punish the terrorist invaders†not long a ago. As result of that declaration, about 100,000 innocent soldiers were killed in battlefields and ten of thousands of families and individuals faced tragic deportations and dire humanitarian consequences. The same parliament that has not yet learnt from its past blunder echoed again the readiness and preparation to invade the eastern neighbor Somalia in the name of protecting Ethiopians and the rest of the world from terrorists’ threat.
Mr. Ayalew continued by saying:
The truth of the matter in waging this war against Somalia is the regime’s desperation to stop the uprising resistance movement within and outside Ethiopia which has been intensifying since the May 2005 election. The elaborate scheme (fighting the terrorists’ threat) by the dictatorial regime that attempts to justify war against Somalia may play out different this time given the fact that the Ethiopian rulers’ trustworthiness credential has been shattered and their decade’s long democratic pretension has hatched for worse.
Interesting perspective to look at Zenawi’s desperate attempt to deflect attention from the political and economic crisis at home.
Click here to view the full article on the Sudan Times.