Somalia bombings have markings of Al-Qaeda: US official
Oct 30, 2008
NAIROBI (AFP) — The deadly coordinated suicide car bomb attacks against key targets in two Somali breakaway states Wednesday have the markings of Al-Qaeda, Jendayi Frazer, US assistant secretary of state for Africa, told reporters in Nairobi.
"Nobody has claimed responsibility for the attacks, but they have the markings of Al-Qaeda," she said after attending a summit on Somalia in the Kenyan capital.
"We believe that these senseless attacks highlight the determination of violent extremists to undermine peace and stability throughout Somalia and the Horn of Africa."
Frazer said Washington will continue to support regional efforts to combat terrorism.
"There is a serious terrorist threat in the Horn of Africa, concentrated in Somalia, Somaliland and Puntland and we have to address it as a region," she said.
Frazer called for action against Eritrea for hosting Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an influential Somali cleric listed as a terrorist by Washington and who has rejected recent peace talks and ceasefires.
"What I can say is Aweys is sitting in Eritrea… he is in the UN and US terror list. Eritrea is giving a safe haven to a terrorist, we need to act accordingly," she said.
"He is not for peace in Somalia, he is not for good governance in Somalia, he is making terrorism threats, we need to treat him accordingly," she told AFP.
Demonym Eritrean Government Provisional government
- President Isaias Afewerki
Independence
- From Italy November 1941
- From United Kingdom under UN Mandate 1951
- from Ethiopia de facto 24 May 1991
- From Ethiopia de jure 24 May 1993
Area
- Total 117,600 km2 (100th)
45,405 sq mi - Water (%) 0.14%
Population
- 2009 estimate 5,224,000[4] (109th)
- 2008 census 5,291,370
- Density 43.1/km2 (165th)
111.7/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2010 estimate
- Total $3.625 billion[5]
- Per capita $681[5]
GDP (nominal) 2010 estimate
- Total $2.117 billion[5]
- Per capita $397[5]
HDI (2007) steady 0.472 (low) (165th)
Currency Nakfa (ERN)
Time zone EAT (UTC+3)
- Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+3)
Drives on the right
ISO 3166 code ER
Internet TLD .er
Calling code 291
1 ,. National TV: Eritrea Television (ERI-TV)
Eritrea (play /ˌɛrɨˈtreɪ.ə/ or /ˌɛrɨˈtriːə/;[6] Ge'ez: ኤርትራ ʾErtrā, Arabic: إرتريا Iritrīyā), officially the State of Eritrea, is a country in the Horn of Africa. The capital is Asmara. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast. The northeast and east of the country has an extensive coastline on the Red Sea, directly across from Saudi Arabia and Yemen. The Dahlak Archipelago and several of the Hanish Islands are part of Eritrea. Eritrea's size is approximately 117,600 km2 (45,406 sq mi) with an estimated population of 6 million...
Source: Wikipedia
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