Ethiopia says efforts “positive”

Ethiopia has rejected accusations by Somalia’s Transitional National Government (TNG) that it was destabilising the country and interfering in Somalia’s internal affairs. In a letter to the UN Security Council, Ethiopia’s permanent representative, Dr Abdulmajid Husayn, described the accusations as “outrageous and saddening”. He said Ethiopia had over the past 10 years made positive moves to help Somalia, including the hosting of thousands of Somali refugees. There were more than 250,000 bona fide Somali refugees living in Ethiopia, Abdulmajid said. In the letter to the Security Council, Abdulmajid said Ethiopia would continue cooperating through the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD). A report by the pro-Ethiopian government Walta Information Centre said Ethiopia should not be made a scapegoat for the failure of the TNG to establish itself in Somalia. Abdulmajid said Ethiopia would not be deterred by “desperate statements coming from a group holed up in hotels in Mogadishu... with no authority anywhere else in Somalia”. The TNG had complained to the Security Council that Ethiopia was undermining peace efforts, and destabilising the country.