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| Africa Horn |
| Eritrea says Ethiopian rebel claim 'baseless' |
| 2006-06-27 |
| Eritrea has flatly rejected arch-foe Ethiopia's claim that it had sent rebels to the north of its Horn of Africa neighbor to destabilize the country. Yemane Gebremeskel, Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki's cabinet director, said the charge, levelled by the Ethiopian defense ministry, was "baseless" and accused Addis Ababa of blaming Asmara for its internal problems. "Eritrea is not involved in any way," he told AFP, maintaining that Ethiopia regularly falsely accuses Eritrea of fomenting unrest on its soil. "It is a routine accusation, nothing new," Yemane said. "Whenever Ethiopia has actions by their opposition, they attribute it to Eritrea. This accusation is baseless." Earlier Tuesday, Addis Ababa claimed to have killed 111, wounded 18 and captured 107 rebels in northern Ethiopia allegedly sent there by Eritrea to disturb the peace and create instability. The announcement appeared certain to ratchet up already heightened tensions between the rivals, who are still feuding over a peace deal that ended their bloody two-year border war in 2000. The countries regularly trade allegations the other is attempting to destabilize it, but tensions have risen in recent months with Ethiopia stepping up accusations that Eritrea is trying to foment unrest on its soil following disputed elections last year. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has accused Eritrea of providing material for a series of mystery blasts that have rocked Addis Ababa and provincial towns since January, killing at least 11 people and wounding dozens. Eritrea has angrily denied those claims. The two countries fought a bitter war over their border between 1998 and 2000 in which some 80,000 people were killed and tensions between them have run high since over the peace agreement, which has yet to be fully implemented. |
| Posted by:Steve |