Ethiopia’s Parliament on Thursday authorised “any legal action” against “the clear and present danger” posed by powerful Islamists in neighbouring Somalia, ratcheting up fears for war.
Lawmakers voted in favour of a resolution that called the Islamists, now on the brink of war with the weak Ethiopian-backed Somali government, a “clear and present danger” to Ethiopia but also called for a continuation of dialogue.
“The Parliament believes there is a clear and present danger to our country,” it said. “The Parliament decides that the government can take any legal action against any invasion coming to our country.”
“The Parliament believes the government has to continue with the peace process, but at the same time, it found it is necessary to take legal measures to protect our sovereignty,” the resolution said.
The motion was adopted by a 311 to 99 vote with 16 abstentions, amid complaints from some opposition lawmakers that the resolution was a “declaration of war”.
Prime Minister Meles Zenawi sought the authorisation last week when he told Parliament that Ethiopia had completed preparations to fight the Islamists, who have declared holy war against Ethiopian troops protecting the Somali government.
Mainly Christian Ethiopia has watched with growing concern the rise on its south-eastern border of the Islamists, who seized Mogadishu in June and now control most of southern and central Somalia.
With a large ethnic Somali population, Ethiopia fears radicalisation of its sizable Muslim minority by the Islamists, some of whom are accused of links to al-Qaeda, who have imposed strict sharia law in areas they control. — AFP