Eritrea denies fuelling crisis in Somalia

Eritrea on Friday denied accusations by Somalia and the United States that it is supporting insurgents in Somalia in order to fight a proxy war against its archrival, Ethiopia.

Addressing a regional meeting of ministers in Nairobi, Andeab Gebremeskel, the director of Africa, Asia and Pacific in Eritrea's foreign ministry, said his country has no interest in fuelling crisis in Somalia where Ethiopian troops is fighting pitched battles against insurgents in Mogadishu.

"Eritrea does not wish to engage in fruitless discourse of acrimony, but it should be emphasized that Eritrea firmly rejects all groundless accusations peddled against it in the past few months," Gebremeskel told the Council of Ministers from the seven- member regional bloc, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

"I would like to reassure you ... that Eritrea has never seen Somalia as a proxy battlefield to settle scores with Ethiopia. Grave as it may be, the border conflict with Ethiopia is a problem between the two countries that cannot be played out in Somalia," he said.

Eritrea and Ethiopia fought a border war between 1998 and 2000. The two countries have remained hostile ever since.

Gebremeskel was referring to comments U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer made last weekend in Nairobi, hours after returning from a surprise visit to Baidoa.

Frazer had said Eritrea remained the country of most concern for the United States because Asmara, along with the al-Qaida terrorist network, is giving support to radicals inside Somalia's Supreme Council of Islamic Courts (SCIC).

Frazer's comments were repeated on Friday by Somali Foreign Minister Ismail Mohamud Hurreh who accused Asmara of working with ousted Islamist elements to destabilize the Horn of African nation.

Source: Xinhua