NAIROBI – Eritrea has denied claims that it is sending weapons to extremists in Somalia and accused the US of exacerbating the problems in the lawless country.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Thursday threatened sanctions against Eritrea for aiding a Somali extremist group she says is trying to launch worldwide terrorist attacks from Somalia.
But Eritrea’s information minister, Ali Abdu, said Friday that the claims are “totally untrue.”
He also criticized a US programme to double an initial provision of 40 tonnes of arms to the country’s struggling government. He said the weapons “will only produce hatred.”
