Somalia's foreign minister condemns Eritrea

NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 18 (Garowe Online) - Somali Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed “Jengeli” has condemned Eritrea for fanning the flames of war in Somalia, Radio Garowe reports.

Minister Jengeli made the public remarks moments before departing from the Kenyan capital Nairobi en route to Uganda for participation at a conference on refugees in Africa, who are estimated to number 17 million people.

"Eritrea has increased provoking wars in the Horn of Africa, especially Somalia, and it gives weapons and other military support to insurgent factions in Somalia," Minister Jengeli said.

He urged the international community to reach a strong decision about Eritrea. Most recently, the British government has publicly called for international sanctions against Eritrea, a country often accused of fanning wars in the Horn of Africa region.

Separately, Minister Jengeli said Al Qaeda is "very powerful in Somalia" and called on the international community to boost the African Union peacekeeping force in Mogadishu.

"Al Qaeda is waging war in Somalia alongside Al Shabaab, who have appealed to foreign fighters to come and join the Somali war," the Foreign Minister said.

He said that the Somali interim government "does everything it can to restore order" but said the international community "must play a clear role."

Somalia's interim government was established at the conclusion of peace talks in Kenya in 2004. At the beginning of 2009, new Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed took office with the international community hoping that the former Islamist leader could break the back of a raging insurgency.

But the insurgency continues to intensify, with Al Shabaab and Hizbul Islam factions now controlling most of Mogadishu and regions in south-central Somalia. Upwards of 18,000 people have been killed and 1 million others displaced in the conflict since the Islamist insurgency began in 2007.