According to informed sources quoted by an opposition Eritrean website, an Iranian vessel carrying a variety of weapons docked at Massawa Port on December 7th.
The report, on Adoulis.com, quoted the sources as saying that the ship, which was also carrying food items, unloaded at a warehouse near the main dock at Massawa and alleged "that the unloading was seen by a representative of the Somali Mujahidin Youth Movement, a representatives of the Huthis [Yemeni rebel group], and a third person believed to be a representative of the opposition in Djibouti."
The item went on to note that the UN Security Council passed a resolution on 23 December to impose sanctions on Eritrea for its support of the Somali rebels and its
refusal to withdraw from territory in Djibouti.
Editor's Note: We've seen similar allegations of Iranian involvement with Eritrea but only from opposition sources.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Friday, December 11, 2009
Angola Delays Election Again (and Again and Again)
Angola's president says the country's first post-war presidential election will likely be delayed for another three years.The Voice of America reports President Jose Eduardo dos Santos, who had previously said the vote would take place in 2009, says he wants his MPLA party to complete the mandate it won in last year's parliamentary elections.
That suggests the presidential vote would take place at the same time or after the next legislative polls in 2012.
Mr. dos Santos signalled the delay during a speech Thursday at a party conference in Angola's capital of Luanda.
President dos Santos, who has ruled Angola since 1979, has delayed the presidential poll several times.
The former rebel movement that is now the main opposition party, UNITA, has been calling for an election since Angola ended its 27-year civil war in 2002.
The leader says he will announce another date for the presidential election after parliament approves a new constitution in March. The Angolan government opened public debate on a new constitution in November.
Mr. dos Santos's MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) won a sweeping victory in the 2008 parliamentary elections. His government has been using oil revenue to rebuild infrastructure and the economy after the long civil war.
The MPLA has been in power since independence from Portugal in 1975.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Al-Qaida in the Maghreb Claims Responsibility for Kidnappings
The Algerian-based group al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is claiming responsibility for last month's kidnapping of three Spanish aid workers in Mauritania and a Frenchman in Mali. VOA's Scott Stearns reports the kidnapping claim came in an audio tape given to the Al Jazeera television network.
The broadcaster's website reports a man identifying himself as Saleh Abu Mohammad says that France and Spain will be informed later about the kidnappers' demands.
Spain says it can not confirm the validity of the claim, but is investigating the report.
Three Spanish aid workers were kidnapped on November 29th south of the Mauritanian city, Nouadhibou, on the road to the capital, Nouakchott. Gunmen abducted a Frenchman in eastern Mali on November 26th.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is a Sunni organization which was formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. It began as an insurrection against Algeria's secular military rulers after they canceled parliament elections in 1992, when it appeared a coalition of Islamist groups might take power.
It has since expanded and aligned itself with the broader al-Qaida terrorist network, claiming responsibility for suicide bombings in Algeria last year and the kidnapping of two Austrian tourists in Tunisia who were later freed in Mali.
The group also claimed responsibility for last December's kidnapping of Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler and his aide in Niger, as well as the abduction of four European tourists returning from a nomadic cultural festival in January. One of those tourists was killed.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb says it killed an American teacher in Nouakchott in June, because he was allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.
It is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department and the European Union.
The broadcaster's website reports a man identifying himself as Saleh Abu Mohammad says that France and Spain will be informed later about the kidnappers' demands.
Spain says it can not confirm the validity of the claim, but is investigating the report.
Three Spanish aid workers were kidnapped on November 29th south of the Mauritanian city, Nouadhibou, on the road to the capital, Nouakchott. Gunmen abducted a Frenchman in eastern Mali on November 26th.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb is a Sunni organization which was formerly known as the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat. It began as an insurrection against Algeria's secular military rulers after they canceled parliament elections in 1992, when it appeared a coalition of Islamist groups might take power.
It has since expanded and aligned itself with the broader al-Qaida terrorist network, claiming responsibility for suicide bombings in Algeria last year and the kidnapping of two Austrian tourists in Tunisia who were later freed in Mali.
The group also claimed responsibility for last December's kidnapping of Canadian diplomat Robert Fowler and his aide in Niger, as well as the abduction of four European tourists returning from a nomadic cultural festival in January. One of those tourists was killed.
Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb says it killed an American teacher in Nouakchott in June, because he was allegedly trying to convert Muslims to Christianity.
It is considered a terrorist group by the U.S. State Department and the European Union.
