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Sep 25, 2009

ASMARA (Reuters) - Eritrea said on Friday the hunting of al Qaeda suspects in Somalia by U.S. and Ethiopian forces had crippled peace efforts in the Horn of African nation.

Washington and the United Nations accuse the Red Sea state of sending arms and other support to Somali insurgents battling the country's U.N.-backed government -- something Asmara denies.

"We don't see eye to eye with Washington and some countries in the region, especially Ethiopia, on the solution to the problem (in Somalia)," Yemane Ghebremeskel, director of the Eritrean president's office, told Reuters in an interview.

"(Their focus on terrorism) is single-minded, it is exaggerated, it is overblown. It overshadows all other aspects and issues," he said.

Some analysts and security agencies fear Somalia -- with its long coastline and lack of effective government -- has become a safe haven for militants, including foreign jihadists, who use it to plot attacks in the region and beyond.

U.S. special forces killed one of Africa's most-wanted al Qaeda suspects in rebel-held southern Somalia last week, risking further inflaming anti-Western sentiment in the nation.

Somalia has been mired in civil strife since warlords toppled dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991. Fighting has killed at least 18,000 civilians since the start of 2007.

Yemane urged Washington and its allies to push for a more inclusive peace process, including talks with al Shabaab rebels who the United States says are al Qaeda's proxies in Somalia.