Addis Ababa, Oct 2 (Angola Press) - Affirming that Ethiopia had not sent troops to Somalia, Prime Minister Meles Zenawi has said that the Transitional Federal Government of President Abdullahi Yusuf, temporarily seated in Baidoa town, has the right to seek external assistance to defend itself.
"We have Ethiopian people training security elements of the transitional government, but we do not have an armed presence as such in Somalia.
"If and when we do have such presence, it will not be possible to disguise it, nor would we be interested in disguising it," Meles told foreign correspondents based in Addis Ababa late Saturday.
He said the recent occupation of the Somali port of Kismayu by militias of the Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) was in direct conflict with the agreement they signed with the Federal Transitional Government in Khartoum.
"The occupation of Kismayu is a very unwelcome development. It has resulted in a number of civilian deaths as a result of protests by the residents of Kismayu," Meles noted.
Underlining the right to self-defence of the Somali government, Meles warned that any attempt to remove it from power by force would be unwelcome.
"We have made it abundantly clear that such a development would be an intolerable one to Ethiopia.
"In Baidoa, we have an internationally recognized government and it is supported by the African Union. It cannot be removed by force," the Prime Minister stated.
With the green light of the AU, member countries of the regional Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) are planning to send a peacekeeping force into Somalia.
The regional effort to bring peace to the war-ravaged country that has had no government for nearly 15 years since 1991 awaits the UN Security Council to lift its arms embargo on Somalia.
Source: Angola Press, Oct 2, 2006