Eritrean leader fears US plans to kill him: cable
18 December, 2010 | By Aaron Maasho (Reuters)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Isaias thinks the United States will attempt to kill him by missile strike
on his residence in the city of Massawa," the cable said, quoting a U.
N. official.
Eritrea is one of the world's most secretive nations and has has border
disputes with Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Analysts and rights groups accuse the Eritrean president of subjecting
his opponents to arbitrary detentions and torture.
The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Asmara last year,
alleging it had provided funds and weapons to Islamist insurgents in
Somalia, a claim it denies.
Asmara accuses the United States of masterminding the sanctions
resolution. Eritrea denies that it is working to destabilise its
neighbours, accusing Ethiopia of conducting a "smear campaign".
The cable showed that Isaias believes Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles
tried to have him killed in 1996 when the two were on friendlier terms
before falling out over a border dispute in 1998.
Mcmullen wrote that Meles offered Isaias, his family and his inner
entourage one of his aircraft in 1996 to fly them to Eritrea after a
stopover in Addis Ababa from a holiday in Kenya.
"Isaias accepted the offer; en route the aircraft caught fire, but
managed to turn back and land safely in Addis," the cable said.
"According to someone who was on the aircraft, an infuriated Isaias
accused Meles to his face of trying to kill him and his family. Isaias has
not trusted Meles since."
Ethiopian government Spokesman Shimeles Kemal dismissed the
suggestion that Meles tried to have Isaias killed.
"It's a baseless rumour. We don't have to respond to second-hand
information which came from unreliable sources," he told Reuters on
Saturday.
Eritrea used to be a part of Ethiopia and waged a 30-year struggle for
independence. The two countries fought a 1998-2000 border war
that killed at least 70,000 people, and relations have been bitter since.
Asmara accuses the United States of siding with Ethiopia their
unresolved border dispute.
Courtesy
18 December, 2010 | By Aaron Maasho (Reuters)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
- ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) -
Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki
fears the United States will try to kill
him by firing a missile into his
residence, according to a leaked
cable from the U.S. embassy in
Eritrea.
- In the cable released on December
15 on WikiLeaks, former U.S.
ambassador Ronald McMullen
wrote that Isaias also believed
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles
"Isaias thinks the United States will attempt to kill him by missile strike
on his residence in the city of Massawa," the cable said, quoting a U.
N. official.
Eritrea is one of the world's most secretive nations and has has border
disputes with Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Analysts and rights groups accuse the Eritrean president of subjecting
his opponents to arbitrary detentions and torture.
The U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions on Asmara last year,
alleging it had provided funds and weapons to Islamist insurgents in
Somalia, a claim it denies.
Asmara accuses the United States of masterminding the sanctions
resolution. Eritrea denies that it is working to destabilise its
neighbours, accusing Ethiopia of conducting a "smear campaign".
The cable showed that Isaias believes Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles
tried to have him killed in 1996 when the two were on friendlier terms
before falling out over a border dispute in 1998.
Mcmullen wrote that Meles offered Isaias, his family and his inner
entourage one of his aircraft in 1996 to fly them to Eritrea after a
stopover in Addis Ababa from a holiday in Kenya.
"Isaias accepted the offer; en route the aircraft caught fire, but
managed to turn back and land safely in Addis," the cable said.
"According to someone who was on the aircraft, an infuriated Isaias
accused Meles to his face of trying to kill him and his family. Isaias has
not trusted Meles since."
Ethiopian government Spokesman Shimeles Kemal dismissed the
suggestion that Meles tried to have Isaias killed.
"It's a baseless rumour. We don't have to respond to second-hand
information which came from unreliable sources," he told Reuters on
Saturday.
Eritrea used to be a part of Ethiopia and waged a 30-year struggle for
independence. The two countries fought a 1998-2000 border war
that killed at least 70,000 people, and relations have been bitter since.
Asmara accuses the United States of siding with Ethiopia their
unresolved border dispute.
Courtesy
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