As fighting among Somali rebel groups and the government has escalated, President Sharif Sheik Ahmed directly accused neighboring Eritrea of supporting the Islamic insurgency on Wednesday. In response to an African Union Peace and Security Council appeal to the United Nations for sanctions against Eritrea, the government denied complicity, describing itself as the victim of “irresponsible” international action. Ahmed, whose four-month-old government is on the brink of collapse, warned the international community that the Eritrean influence may again open the door for an Al Qaeda presence in Somalia. “There are foreigners in the country who have fought in Iraq and Afghanistan and want Somalia to be like [these nations],” Ahmed said. Much to the consternation of Eritrean leaders, Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, an insurgent leader in Somalia, admitted last week that he was receiving weapons directly from Asmara, the Eritrean capital.
Mexican authorities recently arrested 10 mayors and 18 government officials for their suspected collaboration with one of the country’s most violent drug cartels, La Familia. The arrested officials had been under investigation for six months during which time they had allegedly passed on sensitive information to the La Familia cartel. Although Mexican President Felipe Calderon’s nationwide crackdown on organized crime began in 2006, this is the first time that the government has arrested such a large number of high-ranking officials. Among the detainees were the mayor of Uruapan, several state police officials, two municipal police chiefs, and Citlalli Fernandez, the state governor’s advisor.
President Nicolas Sarkozy of France opened a military base in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, the first permanent French base in the Middle East. The base, dubbed “Peace Camp,” will host troops situated along the Straight of Hormuz, a strategic passage between the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf through which 40 percent of the world’s seaborne oil is shipped. French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said that the base was integral to training France’s allies in the Gulf and that a military presence will “bring about necessary balance in this region.” Several nations have expressed concerns over the encroaching grasp of the West in the Middle East, with Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi calling the base “illogical,” and warning that it will lead to an “arms race.” Sarkozy is lobbying in the United Arab Emirates on behalf of France’s Dassault Aviation which produces the Rafale fighter jet; the UAE is seeking to buy 18 billion euros worth of the jets.
The European Commission announced new proposals for overarching regulation of European national banks on Wednesday. If ratified, they would allow for the creation of a European Systemic Risk Council, which would consult with European Union countries (though without any explicit legal powers), and the creation of the European System of Financial Supervisors, which would establish a broader operating framework for national banks that may include “binding technical standards in specific areas.” London, Europe’s largest banking center, has been largely resistant to calls for further integration and regulation, although a British government spokesman did call the proposals, “a starting point for further discussion.” Meanwhile, some French officials, who are historically more comfortable with intervention, have complained that the proposals are not stringent enough. One regulator told Reuters that he thought the European Commission should be given power to punish those countries that do not comply.
The car bomb attack on government buildings that killed at least 24 in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday underscored the expansion of Islamic militant reach into areas far beyond the Northwest Frontier Province on the Afghanistan border. Police and intelligence officers were targeted by gunmen and suicide bombers who are presumably members of the Pakistani Taliban, but according to Suroosh Irfani, a Lahore-based writer, other religious groups that opposed the creation of a secular state in 1947 have aligned themselves with the Taliban and Al Qaeda to “subvert the struggle for reclaiming” a democratic and peaceful Pakistan. The national government faces an uphill battle in eliminating the Islamic insurgency, as an alliance of militant groups may increasingly attempt more sophisticated and wider-ranging attacks.
Russian newspaper Kommersant published an interview today with Alon Bar, the deputy director general of the Israeli foreign ministry, in which Bar commented on Moscow’s engagement with Islamic groups Hamas and Hezbollah and potential cooperation in halting Iranian nuclear activity. Bar stated that Israel does not agree with Russia’s support for Israeli negotiation with the militant parties Hamas and Hezbollah as long as the groups fail to recognize the Jewish state. Bar also warned that if Hezbollah were to gain a majority in the upcoming Lebanese national elections, the nation would become an enemy of Israel. On Iran, the diplomat noted that Russia may be underestimating the Iranian nuclear threat, but emphasized the importance of Russian engagement in denouncing Tehran’s weaponization. Bar admitted that U.S. President Barack Obama’s policy towards Iran offers a “unique chance” for a rapprochement but cautiously noted that in the long run, only “Israel will be responsible for finding solutions when and where diplomacy fails.” Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman is traveling to Moscow next week.