NAIROBI (AFP) – US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Thursday demanded that Eritrea end its support for the Al Qaeda-inspired insurgent group, the Shebab, in Somalia.

“It is long past time for Eritrea to cease and desist its support of Al Shebab and to start being a productive rather than a destabilising neighbour,” Clinton told a joint news conference with Somali President Sharif Sheikh Ahmed.

Clinton said the Shebab — a hardline group spearheading a three-month-old offensive to topple Sharif — would make Somalia a threat to the rest of the world.

“There is also no doubt that Al-Shebab wants to obtain control of Somalia to use it as a base from which to influence and even infiltrate surrounding countries and launch attacks against countries far and near,” she said.

“Certainly if Al-Shebab were to obtain a haven in Somalia which could then attract Al-Qaeda and other terrorist actions, it would be a threat to the United States.”

Source: AFP