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Ethiopia says Eritrea-trained gunmen killed touristsTue, Jan 17 2012By Aaron MaashoADDIS ABABA | Wed Jan 18, 2012 7:10am EST ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Two Germans, two Hungarians and an Austrian were killed by gunmen in an attack on tourists in the remote Afar region of northern Ethiopia, the Ethiopian government said on Wednesday.Government spokesman Bereket Simon said a Hungarian and an Italian were wounded while two Germans and two Ethiopians had been kidnapped in the Tuesday attack, that happened in an area prone to banditry and where separatist rebels have operated.

The AU wants Africa to manufacture and export finished products to its trading partners rather than just selling them the raw materials as it does now. She cited China, India, the EU and US and other rising stars in trade with the continent, including Turkey and Latin America, and said the AU had held talks on the new breed of partnerships with some of them. The AU also wants Africa to have a veto-wielding seat on the UN Security Council, and a place at the G20 negotiating table, Ali said. The peace and security that have eluded Africa for decades...

The Obama administration yesterday announced that it will increase assistance of arms and funds to Somalia’s government, as it tries to beat back a terrorist insurgency that includes an international who’s-who of jihadists, including Al-Qaeda. It does not exaggerate the stakes in Somalia to say that for the first time in its history, Al-Qaeda is about to have rule over an entire country. The Al-Shabaab, a Somalia-based affiliate of the group, assassinated the country’s national security minister on June 18 and currently controls the entire south and large portions of the central parts of the nation, along with parts of...

In a program called: 'Death in the Desert,' CNN docunmented (Nov. 2011): African [mostly Sudanese and Eritrean] refugees, who are escaping in order to get to (democratic and free) Israel, in crossing the Sinai desert, they are raped, tortued, murdered, organs sold by Arab [Egyptian Bedouins, some activities linked to "Palestinians" in Gaza] enslavers. An Egyptian eyewitness described their plight, [more] 'Worse' than slavery. The Egyptian doctors buy from the Sawarka tribe for 1,000 to 2,000 dollars an organ. Thousands have died, many of electrecution and of 'failed' organ harvesting. Egyptian police have not made one single arrest. Worse thing...

The United Nations Security Council is scheduled to vote today (Monday) on whether to impose sanctions against Eritrea. A UN report earlier this year accused Asmara of plotting to bomb an African Union summit in Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa. The UN said most of those arrested in the plot received training and orders from Eritrean officers. The UN also says its Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea has documented evidence of Eritrean payments to individuals linked to the Islamic radical al-Shabab rebels in Somalia... The Security Council refused to delay today's planned vote after Eritrea asked for an extension to...

Someone please help me solve a mystery. Several news reports, including the one at the link below, contained this paragraph regarding the walkout at Ahmadinejad's UN speech on Thursday. "The two U.S. diplomats, who specialize in the Middle East, were followed out of the chamber by diplomats from more than 30 countries. They included the 27 European Union members, Australia, New Zealand, Somalia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, San Marino and Macedonia, a U.N. diplomat said. Israel boycotted the speech." It seems very strange that Somalia, a Muslim country, would walk -- the only one to do so. I've googled until my eyes...

Malaria-carrying mosquitoes are disappearing in some parts of Africa, but scientists are unsure as to why. Figures indicate controls such as anti-mosquito bed nets are having a significant impact on the incidence of malaria in some sub-Saharan countries. But in Malaria Journal, researchers say mosquitoes are also disappearing from areas with few controls. They are uncertain if mosquitoes are being eradicated or whether they will return with renewed vigour. Data from countries such as Tanzania, Eritrea, Rwanda, Kenya and Zambia all indicate that the incidence of malaria is dropping fast. Researchers believe this is due to effective implementation of control...

The Somaliland Press claims that Kenya is preparing to recognize Somaliland's independence, which would create another new country in the horn of Africa. "Kenyan Assistant Minister for Foreign Affairs Richard Onyonka said during an event held in Nairobi to commemorate Somaliland's 20th anniversary of Independence that his country will support Somaliland as an independent state" reported Somaliland Press and Iran's Press TV. Kenyans who have called for their government to recognize Hargeisa argue that Somaliland would help stabilize the region and stop Somalia's expansionism dreams into Kenya and into Ethiopia's eastern regions with Somali ethnic populations. Since Somaliland's ally Ethiopia...

An Eritrean exile group has held simultaneous rallies in Addis Ababa and refugee camps in northern Ethiopia demanding the ouster of Eritrea's government. The demonstrations coincide with Ethiopia's recent switch to a more hardline approach toward its northern rival. More than 600 Eritrean refugees met at an Addis Ababa hotel Wednesday, all wearing identical paper visors with the word "Enough" printed on the side. "Enough" of what they repeatedly called the dictatorial regime of Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki. Organizers said they were in touch by phone with at least five refugee camps in Ethiopia's Tigray and Afar regions where similar...

Djibouti has told the United States that an independent election observer mission is "illegal" and suspended its partnership with the US-funded mission. The news came amid reports that the north-east African coastal state had arrested two opposition leaders on Friday. Democracy International (DI), which has a $2.2m, eight-man team in the tiny strategic state, provides the only international technical assistance and observation group in the country, which has been ruled by the same dynasty since independence. The increasing visibility of the Djibouti's anti-democratic leanings is awkward for the US, which relies on the country for its only military base on...

NUNCIO IN LIBYA SEEKS AID FOR FLEEING ERITREANS Affirms Church Is at the Service of Those on Both Sides of Conflict ROME, MARCH 1, 2011 (Zenit.org).- As the rebellion in Libya starts to look like a civil war, the apostolic vicar of the capital and the papal nuncio are seeking aid for Eritreans who want to leave the country. The appeal from Bishop Giovanni Martinelli, apostolic vicar of Tripoli, and Archbishop Tommaso Caputo, nuncio in Libya, was reported by the Fides agency. "Yesterday, 2,000 [Eritreans] came to the church and to our premises asking for aid and assistance," Bishop Martinelli...

US Politicians Duped By The Brotherhood In the United States, one individual maintained a pretense of "moderation" which would later embarrass the left and the right. According to the testimony of Dr. Michael Waller to the US Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Abdurahman Alamoudi was a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. A man born in Eritrea in 1951, he arrived in the US in 1979 and became a naturalized US citizen on May 23, 1996. From 1985 onwards he became involved in many Muslim groups. In 1990 he founded the Washington DC-based American Muslim Council (AMC), which Waller states "has...

Eritrea is at risk of becoming a failed state, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group. It says internal repression coupled with international military conflict means the country is becoming increasingly isolated in the Horn of Africa. The report says during the past decade Eritrea's government has clamped down on dissent on a colossal scale. It says Eritrea's jails are full of political prisoners, journalists, and religious dissidents who are regularly targeted by the state. ICG's E.J. Hogendoorn says Eritrea has also undergone major military mobilization – a policy that has hit the country's youth hardest. "It...

JIBOUTI, Nov. 16 — For the first time since American troops withdrew from Somalia after a bloody firefight in the streets of Mogadishu, the United States military is rebuilding its combat power in the horn of Africa. The main goal this time is to put American forces in position to strike cells of Al Qaeda in Yemen or East Africa. But the Pentagon has also begun to use Djibouti to train its forces in desert warfare — skills that could be applied in Washington's campaign against terrorist groups or on the battlefields of Iraq. "We are getting heavy weapons ashore...

In March, Russia's defense export giant Rosoboronexport signed a supply contract for 16 Su-30MKI (A) with Algeria. The estimated value of this deal may reach approximately $1 billion. Additionally, a contract for the delivery of six Su-30MK2 to Uganda was signed in March. The amount of the transaction may not be very high - up to $200 million, but it is the first time when new heavy fighters are purchased in sub-Saharan Africa. Earlier, there were negotiations with Uganda regarding sale of six lighter MiG-29, Vedomosti reports referring to sources close to the heads of the department. This deal with...

Note: The following text is a quote: March 30, 2010 Eritrean man pleads guilty to alien smuggling WASHINGTON - Samuel Abrahaley Fessahazion, 23, an Eritrean national, has pleaded guilty to helping smuggle illegal aliens to the United States for private financial gain, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Custom and Border Protection (CBP). Fessahazion, aka "Sami," aka "Sammy," aka "Alex" and aka "Alex Williams" pleaded guilty on March 29, 2010, in Houston to one count of conspiracy and two counts of encouraging and inducing aliens to come to, enter or reside in the United...

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Daily Independent (Lagos) "Nigeria: Police Arrest Suspected Terrorist At Abuja Airport - Probe Al-Jazeera Report On Extra-Judicial Killings" Maxwell Oditta And Abel Orukpe 26 February 2010 SNIPPET: "Lagos — Barely two months after Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a 23-year-old Nigerian was arrested by U.S. authorities for attempting to blow up a Northwest Airlines Flight 253 flying from Amsterdam, Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan, with 289 passengers on December 25, 2009, the Police at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja, has arrested a 36-year-old suspected terrorist Ahmed Ibrahim Muhammad from Eritrea. A highly dependable source in the Abuja airport told our correspondent...

Entire Eritrean national football team has gone missing after failing to board a flight home following a match in Kenya. Only the squad's coach and one other official arrived back in Eritrea after the team was knocked out in the quarter finals of the CECAFA tournament for east and central Africa. The Eritrean national football team pose for a group photo before the start of the match against Tanzania, at the Nyayo National stadium in Nairobi The twelve players are believed to be hiding somewhere in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, where there are tens of thousands who have fled Eritrea's...

NOTE the post's date and then realize that the persecution continues as I type; however, Muslims respond by stating all this is bogus. Some have to read Muslim prayers in order to survive. Others have to proclaim aloud that they have converted from Christianity to Islam in order not to be slain. Still others have to read from the Koran and say they agree with what they read.

Living With Osama bin Laden: First Wife Tells of Husband's Bid To Train His Sons As Suicide Bombers Daily Mail Reporter 12th October 2009 Osama bin Laden was a tyrant who trained his own children to be suicide bombers and murdered their pets, his first wife has revealed. In a new book about her time living with bin Laden, Najwa Ghanem has told how she gave birth to 11 of his 14 children because bin Laden said that Islam needed many warriors. And millionaire bin Laden would not allow any modern appliances in his home, even refusing his son medicine...

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has warned that the US will "take action" against Eritrea if it does not stop supporting militants in Somalia. She said after talks with Somali President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in Kenya's capital, Nairobi, that Eritrea's actions were "unacceptable". She also said the US would expand support for Somalia's unity government. Eritrea denies supporting Somalia's al-Shabab militants, who are trying to overthrow Somalia's government. Al-Shabab is growing in strength and 250,000 Somalis have fled their homes in fighting between militants and government forces over the past three months.

Not for commercial use. Solely to be used for the educational purposes of research and open discussion. Arrest of Kenyan Exposes Massive Global Arms Trade The East African Africa News February 25, 2002 Monday Kenya L AST WEEKEND'S arrest of Kenyan-born Sanjivan Ruprah, who is alleged to be a part of a major arms smuggling operation to Africa, has brought into the open the extent of the multi-million dollar illegal business. The whereabouts of Bout remain unknown. Some media reports say he is in Moscow, while others say he is in the Congo or the United Arab Emirates. An international ...

It is not news, but just for the record, Eritrea tyrant Isias Afewarki doesn't trust any one in the world. Afewarki believes that the wold is out to get him. Afewarki believes that all calls for democracy, justice, rule of law, human rights, free press etc is in Afewarki's paranoid mind nothing but a plot against him and pretext to get him, and that regional, international, and non-governmental organizations are instruments of Neo-colonialism! Afewarki makes no secret about his paranoia vis á vis the international community, and the international media is not unfamiliar with his paranoid outbursts in this regard...

May 16, 2009 SNIPPET: "There have been a number of reports of foreign fighters, with possible links to al-Qaeda, fighting alongside hardline Islamists of al-Shabaab and Hisbul-Islam, said Mr Carson, the US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs. "We're extremely worried about the reports." "There seem to be fairly serious and creditable reports that al Shabaab does have, amongst its fighters, a number of individuals of South Asian and Chechen origin," said Mr Carson. "This is a very disturbing situation and reflects the seriousness of the problem in Somalia." Mr Carson also expressed concern about flights from Eritrea were...

Piracy- Another Excuse for Veiled Adventurism - Eritrean editorial The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 on the Twin Towers had set off torrents of shock and sadness from nations and peoples from all over the world, as everyone was sympathetic to the loss and grief of the American people. Many nations, in an effort to prevent such further misdemeanours and actions of terror, pledged to join the alliance to fight terrorism formed by the United States of America to contribute their parts. However, the Bush Administration’s handling of the issue wasn’t as expected by everyone. The Bush Administration and...

Iranian ships and submarines have deployed an undisclosed number of Iranian troops and weapons at the Eritrean port town of Assab, according to opposition groups, foreign diplomats, and NGOs in the area. The city of Assab sits at the Horn of Africa in the Arabian Sea. As such, Assab offers a strategic position as the world nervously eyes the precarious routes through which a seaborne oil traverses daily. Local sources have reported that Iran recently sent soldiers and a large number of long-range and ballistic missiles. The military basing came after Iran signed an accord with Eritrea to revamp the...

Security sources say Israel and Iran are conducting rival intelligence operations in Eritrea, the poor African state on the Red Sea. The Israelis fear Eritrea could be a flashpoint if Iranian Revolutionary Guards continue to ship arms to militants in Gaza via the Eritrean port of Assab. Israel is said to have two Eritrean bases, one a “listening post” for signals intelligence, the other a supply base for its German-built submarines. In Sudan in February, Israeli drones thought to be based in Eritrea attacked an arms convoy bound for Hamas militants in Gaza, and several Revolutionary Guards escorting the convoy...

The Red Sea dictatorship has drawn the wrath of America by backing extremist Islamic groups in Somalia as part of a proxy war with Ethiopia, its former ruler. It champions al-Shabaab, an al-Qaeda-linked group that American intelligence believes has trained a dozen of its own citizens to carry out attacks in the US

BARACK OBAMA PIRATE SONG

Federal agents searched three money-transfer businesses in Minneapolis on Wednesday, carrying away boxes of documents and copying computer hard drives in a quest for details of financial transactions between the U.S. and several African nations. Agents searched Mustaqbal Express, also known as North American Money Transfer Inc.; Quran Express; and Aaran Financial. FBI spokesman E.K. Wilson confirmed the searches but wouldn't elaborate on the reason.

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/tw/tw_2939.html Travel Warning United States Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs Washington, DC 20520 This information is current as of today, Sat Feb 21 2009 01:37:32 GMT-0800 (PST). ERITREA February 18, 2009 U.S. Department of State continues to warn U.S. citizens of the risks of travel to Eritrea and recommends that U.S. citizens defer travel at this time. This replaces the Travel Warning dated November 15, 2008, and informs U.S. citizens that the consular section of the U.S. Embassy in Asmara has re-opened for all American Citizen Services. The Department of State...

Note: The following text is a quote: http://www.assistnews.net/Stories/2009/s09010155.htm Wednesday, January 21, 2009 Christian Deaths Mount in Eritrean Prisons Three more believers die in military confinement centers in past four months By Jeremy Reynalds Correspondent for ASSIST News Service LOS ANGELES (ANS) -- Three Christians incarcerated in military prisons for their faith have died in the past four months in Eritrea, including the Jan. 16 death of a 42-year-old man in solitary confinement, according to a Christian support organization. Compass News reported sources told Open Doors that Mehari Gebreneguse Asgedom died at the Mitire Military Confinement center from torture, and complications...

A Somali Islamist hardliner who lives in exile in Eritrea has said the war against the Somali interim government will continue "even if Ethiopian troops withdraw," Radio Garowe reports. Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, leader of the Eritrea-based ARS faction, said on Thursday that he is "doubtful" that Ethiopian forces will withdraw from Somalia. "The men who returned to Mogadishu made friends with the enemy, and I believe the enemy is using them," Sheikh Aweys said, while referring to Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, chairman of the Alliance for Re-liberation of Somalia's (ARS) Djibouti-based faction. He described the enemy as "Ethiopian soldiers...

The United States has agreed to deploy radiation detectors at a major port in Djibouti as part of an ongoing effort to deter smuggling of potential nuclear weapons materials, the U.S. National Nuclear Security Administration announced today (see GSN, Dec. 6). "This agreement highlights the shared commitment of the United States and the Republic of Djibouti to combat nuclear terrorism," NNSA Deputy Administrator William Tobey said in a press release. "The Port of Djibouti plays an important role in the global maritime shipping system by linking Europe, the Far East, Africa and the Persian Gulf. Djibouti's strategic location as a...

eavy fighting erupted today in Mogadishu between insurgents and AMISOM peacekeepers at a base of the African Union peace mission in Somalia, witnesses told the local media. Based on these accounts, a commando fired rocket propelled grenades in the KM4 base, a key crossing in southern Mogadishu. Radio Shabelle reports that it is unknown if there were any casualties. News is also unclear from the Afgoi district, in the Lower Shabelle region that surrounds Mogadishu: according to some local reporters, a blast severely damaged an Ethiopian military truck. Somalia, torn by a never resolved civil war since 1991, is in...

His Holiness Abune Dioskoros, Patriarch of the Eritrean Orthodox Tewahdo Church, who is currently in Europe on spiritual visit, said that the Eritrea people have religions of their own dating back to centuries on the basis of which they have been coexisting in peace and harmony. And as such, they are not in need of any religion from foreigners, he elaborated. During his stay in the Italian city of Milan from December 5 to 8, the Patriarch was accorded warm welcome by heads of the Office of the Eritrean Consul General, the Synod of the St. Mary Church and a...

On the same day Somali gunmen seized two more ships, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Tuesday to authorize nations to conduct land and air attacks on pirate bases on the coast of the Horn of Africa country. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on hand to push through the resolution, one of President George W. Bush's last major foreign policy initiatives. Rice said the resolution will have a significant impact, especially since "pirates are adapting to the naval presence in the Gulf of Aden by traveling further" into sea lanes not guarded by warships sent by the U.S. and...

[Pan-Arabism = tyranny - racism] Eritrea Slams... IGAD as Tool of Anti-African Policies Oct 28, 2008 ... IGAD member states include a bunch of derelict or failed states that consist in the epitome of malfunction, ferocity and malignancy. With Eritrea having wisely suspended its participation in this nest of snakes in 2007, IGAD represents the illegal interests of the undemocratic and terrorist governments of Abyssinia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and Uganda. The six (6) countries´ names are the most loathed (by the inhabitants of the respective countries) country names throughout the globe. In fact, Abyssinia, Sudan, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya and...

On the other side of the Red Sea in the south-west corner of the Arabian peninsula, Yemen has natural gas reserves and is trying to lure investment from its wealthy neighbours. But the country suffers from a shortage of fresh water and is beset by economic hardship, a persistent al-Qaeda menace and a Shia rebellion in the north. It takes a leap of faith to believe that a private initiative can raise $200bn for what would be the world's biggest engineering project to link the two countries. Plans are afoot for such a scheme, however. The grandiose project is the...

Egypt crackdown on African migrants hits Eritreans Thu 26 Jun 2008, 11:14 GMT By Cynthia Johnston CAIRO, June 26 (Reuters) - When 17 Eritrean migrants crept down from a hillside to a central Egypt highway, after slipping undetected into the most populous Arab country, security forces quickly swept in to pick them up. The Eritreans, including a baby whose mother died on her journey to Egypt, were snared in a growing Egyptian crackdown on African migrants that has seen up to 1,000 Eritrean asylum seekers deported since June 11 despite U.N. objections. ... he Eritreans include Pentecostal Christians fleeing religious...

LA JOYA, Texas — Local police are accustomed to dealing with illegal border crossings, but they were astounded by the video of 15 Chinese immigrants unfolding themselves from the back of a red Suburban near this small border town. The vehicle appeared abandoned when police rolled up early on a recent Saturday morning. But when Border Patrol agents arrived and swung open the double rear doors, the Chinese immigrants tumbled out, squinting in the sunlight. "They were in bad shape," said La Joya Police spokesman Joe Cantu. The immigrants were silent, able to communicate only with hand gestures. One man...

HIDALGO - U.S. Border Patrol agents Sunday detained 18 people from the horn of Africa - an uncommon but not unheard of origin for illegal migrants to the United States, officials said. The east African immigrants - 13 from Eritrea and five from Ethiopia - were walking along a road in Hidalgo on Sunday when they were spotted, said local Border Patrol spokesman Daniel Doty. Agents peacefully took the illegal immigrants into custody, Doty said. None of them was carrying drugs or firearms. Doty said illegal immigrants who come from countries other than Mexico either face an expedited deportation hearing...

ON THE DJIBOUTIAN-ERITREAN BORDER — The distance between the rival armies is shorter than the barrel of a gun. Hundreds of opposing troops are lined up on the border, staring each other down, from just inches away. On one side are the Djiboutians, a relatively well-equipped African military with combat boots, CamelBak strap-on water bottles and the occasional buttery croissant in the field. On the other side are skinny Eritrean soldiers, covered in dust and wearing plastic sandals, camped out in thatch-roofed huts that look like fortified tropical bungalows. < > “No pictures, no pictures,” one Eritrean soldier yelled....

Cairo, Egypt (AHN) - Egyptian border police shot and killed an Eritrean refugee on Saturday who was attempting to sneak into Israel, security officials said. According to initial reports, the woman had been attempting to smuggle herself and her two children across the border when Egyptian soldiers, who said she disobeyed orders before opening fire, caught her, according to reports. Security officials in the Sinai Peninsula have said that the woman's' daughters, aged 8 and 10, have been taken into custody. In recent months, Israel has continually called on Cairo to do a better job at stemming the tide of...

The Ethiopian Foreign Minister Seyoum Mesfin accuses Norway of supporting "terrorist groups" in Somalia, Eritrea and Sudan. "False allegations," replies Norwegian Parliamentary Secretary Raymond Johansen.

The US has issued Eritrea with its strongest warning yet over its alleged support for terrorism. A senior US official said the presence of an exiled Somali Islamist leader in Asmara this week was further evidence Eritrea gave sanctuary to terrorists. The gathering of further intelligence could lead to Eritrea being named as a state sponsor of terrorism - followed by sanctions, the official said. The Eritrean government has accused the US of deliberate distortion. A full scale war of words is now going on between Eritrea and the United States. The US Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs,...

US gives stark warning to Eritrea By Elizabeth Blunt BBC News, Addis Ababa Eritrea accuses Jendayi Frazer herself of deliberate distortion The US has issued Eritrea with its strongest warning yet over its alleged support for terrorism. A senior US official said the presence of an exiled Somali Islamist leader in Asmara this week was further evidence Eritrea gave sanctuary to terrorists. The gathering of further intelligence could lead to Eritrea being named as a state sponsor of terrorism - followed by sanctions, the official said. The Eritrean government has accused the US of deliberate distortion. A full scale war...

The Eritrea Consulate's office in downtown Oakland was shuttered to visitors Tuesday after U.S. State Department orders, the latest salvo in an escalating diplomatic conflict with the impoverished East African country state. The State Department informed Eritrea last week that the consulate must be shut down by Nov. 8, citing restrictions imposed on diplomats at the U.S. Embassy in Asmara, including travel curbs, the refusal to grant visas to U.S. officials, and the non-delivery of diplomatic pouches, which is in violation of international protocols. By Tuesday morning, however, the Consulate Office in the Tribune Tower on 13th Street in downtown...

Ethiopia's prime minister says he is strengthening his army in preparation for an attack by long-time foe Eritrea. "Our defence forces have the capacity to deter aggression and to repulse it if it occurred," Meles Zenawi told MPs. An Eritrean minister said Mr Meles was "paranoid" and trying to divert attention from his domestic problems. He denied backing Ethiopian rebels