Ethiopia in threat to oust Eritrea’s regime

By ARGAW ASHINE Nation correspondent in Addis Ababa
Posted Saturday, March 19 2011 at 19:50

In Summary

• Country accused of trying to destabilise the Horn of Africa

Ethiopia has threatened to topple Eritrea’s regime should the international community fail to enforce sanctions placed on the country in 2009.

Addis Ababa claims Eritrea is trying to destabilise the Horn of African nation by backing rebels, while also supporting Islamist militants in Somalia.

The Ethiopian government usually says it is content to keep security tight at home to deter attacks.

Eritrea fiercely denies the charges and accuses Western nations of siding with Ethiopia over the unresolved border row.

Eritrea, a tiny Red Sea state, broke away from Ethiopia in 1993 and has been under the leadership of President Isaias Afewerki, 67, since.

Fought bloody war

The two countries fought a bloody war in 1998-2000, which killed more than 70,000 people.

Ethiopian officials, including Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, said they will use “all possible means” to overthrow the Eritrean administration.

Meles said Ethiopia would work towards changing Eritrea’s policies or its government.

“This could be done diplomatically, politically or through other means,” he said during an interview with Ethiopia-based Eritrean opposition radio station.

Meles also claimed that his country’s intelligence reports indicated that Eritrea was planning to disrupt the upcoming Djibouti elections.

Landlocked Ethiopia depends on the Djibouti port for all its trade.

And Meles has already sent a delegation led by his Foreign Affairs minister to New York to brief the UN on the situation.