Clinton pledges support for Somalia, warns Eritrea (2nd Lead)

Aug 6, 2009, 14:48 GMT

Nairobi - US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton Thursday promised the US would continue to support insurgency-hit Somalia with military equipment and financial aid after meeting President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed in the Kenyan capital Nairobi

Clinton, in the early stages of a seven-nation African tour, also threatened to 'take action' against Eritrea if it does not stop supporting Somali insurgent group al-Shabaab.

Large swathes of the Horn of Africa nation are in the hands of al-Shabaab, which Clinton said has close links with al-Qaeda.

'We believe that his (Sheikh Sharif's) government is the best hope we've had in quite some time for a return to stability,' Clinton told journalists at a joint press conference with Sheikh Sharif. 'We will continue to provide equipment and training for the TFG (Transitional Federal Government).'

An estimated 18,000 Somalis have died and over a million have been displaced by the insurgency, which kicked off in early 2007. Somalia has not had an effective central government since the 1991 ouster of dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Sheikh Sharif, a former close ally of the insurgents, came to power this year in a United Nations-backed peace process.

Hopes were high that he could end the fighting, but the insurgents have instead redoubled their efforts. They oppose Sheikh Sharif, saying he is too close to the West.

Concerns are growing that al-Shabaab, which has increasingly attracted the support of foreign fighters, could launch terror attacks in the region and beyond if it gains control of Somalia.

'There is also no doubt that al-Shabaab wants to obtain control of Somalia to use it as a base from which to ... launch attacks against countries far and near,' Clinton said.

Neighbouring Kenya has beefed up security along its borders and raised its security level as worries over possible terrorist attacks rise.

Police in Australia earlier this week arrested several men they said had links with al-Shabaab on suspicion of planning a suicide attack

According to diplomats in Nairobi, foreign fighters have been flooding into Somalia. Suicide bombings against government forces and the African Union peacekeepers backing them have become more frequent.

Kenya has already borne the brunt of suicide bombings organized by al-Qaeda-linked operatives, and Clinton on Thursday paid her respects to the victims of the attack.

She laid a wreath at the site of the former US embassy in downtown Nairobi, just one day before the 11th anniversary of the simultaneous bomb attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania that killed over 200 people.

The US, keen to avoid a repeat of the bombing, has provided military supplies to the Somali government, is training security forces and also provides funding to the AU peacekeeping mission.

Sheikh Sharif wants international military assistance, but the US, with memories of a 1993 incident in which 18 US soldiers died in Mogadishu, is reticent to wade in.

Clinton effectively ruled out any military intervention, saying she believed the current route was the right one to follow.

However, she did warn that the US would take unspecified action against Eritrea, which has long been accused of providing weapons to al-Shabaab.

'It is long past time for Eritrea to cease ... its support of al-Shabaab and to start being a productive rather than a destabilizing neighbour,' she said. 'We intend to take action if they do not cease.'

The secretary is on the second full day of an 11-day tour of Africa. She plans to visit South Africa, Angola, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Nigeria, Liberia and Cape Verde as well as Kenya.

On Wednesday, she warned delegates at a trade conference in Nairobi that while Africa has a bright future, it was unlikely to come to pass unless governance improved dramatically.

She also pushed Kenya to set up a local tribunal to prosecute those responsible for the violence that followed December 2007's disputed presidential election.

Around 1,500 people died in tribal violence that many believe was orchestrated by high-ranking politicians.