The Bab al-Mandab
Yemen, Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia have agreed to adjourn the coming round of Sana’a Cooperation Forum that was supposed to be held in January.
Official newspapers said that the four countries have initially agreed to hold the round on February 13.
The delay coincides with extensive contacts Yemen is persuading with Sudanese, Ethiopian and Somali governments as well as with EGAD to prepare for a dialogue between the Somali interim government and the Islamic courts and other factions to cease violence and bloodshed in Somalia, said Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi.
Yemen’s ambassador to Somalia, Ahmad Hamid Omer, has handed a letter from president Ali Abdullah Saleh to Somali president confirming Yemen’s steady supporting stand for the Somali federal institutions and its call for dialogue between parts of conflict.
On the other hand, Yemen has closed its coasts against Somali armed groups that are escaping the current serious developments in Somalia and made extensive security alert along its marine borders, according to official sources.
Extensive procedures have been taken to prevent infiltration of suspects and militants from Somalia to Yemen after the Ethiopia-backed interim government had re-controlled Mogadishu and most of Somali territories, the official website, 26Sept.net, quoted an official source in the Coast Guards Authority as saying.
The source was quoted as saying that thousands of boats and soldiers have been deployed along the territorial waters on the Arab Sea and Red Sea.
The source also revealed that boats belong to the US navy in the international waters started to move to support security measures. It said that Yemeni coast guards inspect and control all ships and boats coming to Yemen including boats for Yemeni fishermen. It said that coast guards have recently seized six boats in the territorial waters in Al-Saleef, Gulf of Aden and Shabwa carrying tens of Somali refugees.
The source expected that the number of refugees might rise in the first months of 2007 up to 30000 due to conflict in Somalia.
Member of Yemeni Parliament and head of the Arab Parliament’s inspection committee to Darfur in Sudan and Somalia, Mansour al-Zindani, said events in the African Horn are “attempts to extend US Empire to control all international marine outlets such Hermoz, Bab Al-Mandab, Swis channel and Jabal Tariq”.
Al-Zindani said America seeks to control such outlets directly or by agents in those areas. He described conflict in Somalia as “an invasion and challenge against the Somali people’s will”. “Unfortunately, the escalation in Somalia is backed by US and European countries. It is a part of western policy against the Arab and Islamic world, said al-Zindani in an interview with al-Jazeera.net.
“it is not the US and European countries mistake it is the weakness of Arab regimes. That is why we see a country occupied by Ethiopian army.
The coming round of Sana’a Cooperation Forum is supposed to concentrate on developments in Somalia, Darfur in Sudan and establishing joint market and companies to further develop economic and trade cooperation.
