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Egypt, Eritrea Agree to Face Threats in African Horn, Red Sea

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi meets with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi meets with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
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Egypt, Eritrea Agree to Face Threats in African Horn, Red Sea

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi meets with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi meets with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh in Cairo (Egyptian Presidency)

Egypt and Eritrea on Thursday expressed keenness to continue coordination and consultations at various levels to face threats in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea and support regional security and stability.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi met with Eritrean Foreign Minister Osman Saleh in Cairo, in the presence of Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service Major General Abbas Kamel.
During the meeting, Sisi received a letter from his Eritrean counterpart Isaias Afwerki, in which he looked forward to enhancing consultation and coordination on issues of common interest, a presidential statement said.
Sisi confirmed Egypt’s keenness to advance efforts to deepen the distinguished relations and cooperation between the two countries, so as to benefit the two peoples and achieve their common interests, in light of the mounting regional challenges that call for intensifying discussions on ways to address them.
The meeting touched on the regional situation, particularly issues and threats in the Horn of Africa and the Red Sea, the statement said.
Both countries confirmed keenness to continue joint coordination and consultation at various levels, so as to support security and stability in the region.
The meeting comes amid escalated tensions in the Horn of Africa after Somaliland agreed in January to grant 20 kilometers of its coastline for 50 years to Addis Ababa, through a “lease” agreement.
Egypt and Somalia rejected the deal, which prompted Arab foreign ministers to convene urgently on January 17 via a virtual conference.
Somaliland, a former British protectorate, declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but the move was not recognized internationally.
The Mogadishu government said it would address this agreement by all legal means, and described it as “a blatant violation of its sovereignty.”
Egypt aims at boosting cooperation with the countries of the Horn of Africa. Last month, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty embarked on a tour operated by EgyptAir to Djibouti and Mogadishu, marking the first direct flights between Egypt and these two African nations.

 

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Iraq Arrests People in Connection with Ain al-Asad Attack

Norwegian soldiers prepare to board a Black Hawk helicopter during a training exercise at Ain al-Asad air base in July. (US Army)
Norwegian soldiers prepare to board a Black Hawk helicopter during a training exercise at Ain al-Asad air base in July. (US Army)
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Iraq Arrests People in Connection with Ain al-Asad Attack

Norwegian soldiers prepare to board a Black Hawk helicopter during a training exercise at Ain al-Asad air base in July. (US Army)
Norwegian soldiers prepare to board a Black Hawk helicopter during a training exercise at Ain al-Asad air base in July. (US Army)

Security forces have arrested five people in connection with an attack this week at the Ain al-Asad military base in Iraq in which four US troops and a US contractor were wounded, Iraqi officials said on Thursday.

“After in-depth legal investigations and listening to witnesses' statements, ... five of those involved in this illegal act were arrested,” the Iraqi Security Media Cell said in a statement.

On Wednesday, Iraqi security forces arrested four suspects in connection with the attack, a security source said.

Last Tuesday, the Joint Operations Command said it will arrest the perpetrators of the attack and bring them to justice after it received “critical” information about their identity.

US officials told Reuters that at least five US personnel were injured in an attack against a military base in Iraq on Monday.

The US officials, who spoke to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said one of the Americans was seriously injured. The casualty count was based on initial reports which could still change, they said.

The attack came as the Middle East braced for a possible new wave of attacks by Iran and its allies following last week's assassination in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political leader of Hamas, coupled with the killing of the senior military commander of Hezbollah, Fuad Shukr, by Israel in a strike on Beirut.

A political source told Asharq Al-Awsat, on Thursday that the arrest of people in connection with the Ain al-Asad attack aims to spare Iraq from a US response that could target the headquarters of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF).

On Wednesday, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin declared that the US “will not tolerate” any attacks on its forces in the Middle East.

Soon after the attack on Ain al-Asad, Iraq's ruling Shiite coalition tried to prevent the collapse of a truce between the armed factions and US forces.

In its statement Tuesday, the Iraqi military condemned the rocket attack on the airbase as irresponsible.

“We reject all reckless actions and practices targeting Iraqi bases, diplomatic missions, and the whereabouts of the international coalition's advisers, and everything that would raise tension in the region,” the Iraqi statement said.

It also pledged to arrest the people in connection with the attack.

On Monday evening, the Coordination Framework held a meeting at the residence of the head of the Badr Organization, Hadi Al-Ameri, in Baghdad, to discuss the escalating tensions in the Middle East and the expected Iranian response after the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Media outlets said the meeting also tackled the need to “support the government in keeping Iraq out of the wider specter of war.”

Iraq hosts 2,500 US troops and has Iran-backed militias linked to its security forces. It has witnessed escalating tit-for-tat attacks since the Israel-Hamas war erupted in October.