Where is Eritrea?
Eritrea is geographically important to the region as it borders Sudan, Ethiopia, Djbouti and the Red Sea. Just across the sea, lies Saudi Arabia and Yemen.
What are some of the allegations by the West about Eritrea?
There have been allegations by the West that prime location and turubulent history of Eritrea has made it a haven for the training of foreign fighters in the region. On December 23 the United Nations Security Council imposed an arms embargo and other sanctions on Eritrea for allegedly endangering the stability in the Horn of Africa. Resolution 1907 was adopted to punish Eritrea for supplying arms to Al Qaida-linked Al Shabab rebels in Somalia and occupying disputed territory on its border with Djibouti.
The sanctions, which include an arms embargo, freezing of the assets and travel restrictions on the political and military leaders, follow Western media and Eritrean opposition’s campaign that Eritrean army camps were being misused to provide training to Somali militants and these camps were a haven for foreign fighters and Al Houthi rebels of Yemen.
How did Eritrea capture the attention of the West?
Observers believe, the visit of Eritrean President Isaias Afewerki to Iran in May 2009 and talks with his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the immediate provocation for the Western intelligence agencies to join together against Eritrea. From that time, a well-orchastrated media campaign was launched against Ertirea accusing it of letting Iran use its camps to train foreign fighters.
US intelligene agencies and some other Western states have accused Eritrea of allowing Iran to build a naval yard for speed war boats on its Haleb island, one of the major islands in Assab Gulf on the southern coast of Red Sea facing Bab Al Mandab Strait on the strategic international shipping route.
What were the findings of Gulf News?
After being given an exclusive tour of the country’s military camps, Gulf News rejected the claims that these camps are training grounds for foreign fighters. There were no highly sophisticated weapons or latest technological devices pointing to the presence of any troops from Iran or any other foreign countries in this camp contrary to the allegations made by the Western media. The media cited banning of a UN delegation to visit certain parts of the country as evidence for presence of Iranian troops. Eritrean President Isiais Afewerki and a number of senior officials of the ruling Peoples Liberation Front, refuted this allegation vehemently. They told Gulf News that the denial of entry for the UN delegation to this strategic location was in protest against the adoption of the UN resolution condemning Asmara. “Had their permission for entry was before this resolution, the UN delegation would have been allowed to enter the region,” they said.
