State Department: Eritrea joins jihad

Bill Weinberg

Speaking at the end of a visit to Ethiopia, US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer issued the strongest threat yet that Eritrea could be officially labeled a sponsor of terrorism. Frazer said the presence of exiled Somali Islamist leader Hassan Dahir Uways at a meeting in Asmara was further evidence that Eritrea provided sanctuary for terrorists. (BBC, Sept. 8) Hassan Dahir Uways is officially labelled a “terrorist” by Executive Order 13224 of Sept. 23, 2001.

See our last post on the struggle for the Horn of Africa.

  1. Somali opposition unites
    On Sept. 12, the summit of Somali opposition leaders hosted in Eritrea formally launched the Alliance for the Liberation of Somalia. Notes the AP:

    Sheik Sharif Sheik Ahmed, the former chairman of the executive council of Islamic Courts, was elected the new chairman of the Somali opposition alliance and Sharif Hassan Sheik Aden, the ousted parliamentary speaker, as chairman of the alliance’s 191-member central committee, Sheik Yusuf Ainte, a delegate the alliance meeting, told the Associated Press by phone.