Ethiopia – Eritrea: Asmara government accepts liability for kidnappings

The Eritrean government, Monday, has finally claimed partial responsibility for the kidnappings of European and Ethiopian civilians. Broadcasted on the Eritrean government television – EriTV – the government tv hosted & entertained the Eritrean financed rebels who kidnapped the European and Ethiopian civilians a couple of weeks ago.

According to EriTV, armed men from the Afar Revolutionary Democratic Unity Front (ARDUF) handed over the European hostages to Eritrean government officials which is widely known for equiping & financing the armed men. A short footage on the Eritrean government television showed an Eritrean military helicopter assisting the Afar rebels in Eritrea to carry the Europeans to the Eritrean capital - Asmara. The European hostages have then been freed quickly. However, the footage did not show where the Eritrean government and the government financed rebels hid the Ethiopian hostages who were mostly embassy aids and tour guide operators.

In addition to the Afar rebels, the Eritrean government has been re-organizing, sponsoring and arming more than 13 rebels and groups against Ethiopia, around 4 militant groups against Sudan as well as militant groups against Somalia - including remnants of ICU and PRM/SPIM insurgents.

The Eritrean government also admitted that rebels are native Afar citizens who are against the current Afar land division which occurred mostly because of the Eritrean government occupying the Ethiopian-native Afar peoples’ land & occupying the Asseb port. These regions currently occupied by the Eritrean government have been Ethiopian territory for more than one century and Abyssinian(Ethiopian) territory for many centuries. However, since 1993, the Ethiopian Afar land has been drastically dissected by the uninterrupted current Eritrean occupation.

Conditions between the two countries have been tense since the Eritrean government air bombed Ethiopian schools full of children in 1998 to start the Eritrean-Ethiopian war (1998-2002.) In addition, political tensions remain high inside Ethiopia partially because of the extremely poor handling of the post-war affairs by the Ethiopian government; which despite winning the war, gave back all western Eritrea territories carelessly without exchanging eastern Asseb Ethiopian port & securing Ethiopian Afar territories.

Ethiopia, on Saturday, has called for an international help to free the eight missing Ethiopians who are believed to be on Eritrean soil.

http://allafrica.com/stories/200703170185.html

http://english.people.com.cn/200703/19/eng20070319_358903.html

http://www.int.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=68&art_id=nw20070319134417898C158257