East African leaders on Monday demanded that the UN Security Council clamp down on isolated Eritrea which they accused of unprovoked invasions, terrorism and flouting international law. The prime minister of Ethiopia, presidents of Somalia and Djibouti and ministers from Kenya and Uganda called on the Security Council to pass a resolution that expands current sanctions against Eritrea.
The resolution, to be voted late Monday, would also condemn Eritrea's involvement in a plot to bomb an African Union summit and its support for Shebab Islamist militants in Somalia. Eritrea broke away from Ethiopia in 1993 and fought a war with its neighbour from 1998-2000, but Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said "this is not a family quarrel between Ethiopia and Eritrea."
All East African nations consider that "Eritrea is the prime source of instability in our region," Zenawi told the 15-member Security Council in a video link from Addis Ababa where the other leaders were. A UN sanctions monitoring group this year said Eritrea was involved in a plot to bomb an African Union summit in Addis Ababa in January and was giving financial support, arms and training to Somali Islamist rebels and al Qaeda. On top of Ethiopia, Eritrea also has territorial disputes with Yemen and Djibouti.
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