Counter-Terrorism: Eritrea Joins The Axis of Evil

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July 25, 2007: Eritrea's hatred of its neighbor, Ethiopia, nurtured by a nasty border dispute, has led to Eritrea becoming a base for Islamic terrorists. Eritrea provides sanctuary for Islamic terrorist groups from Somalia and Ethiopia. About half the population of Eritrea is Moslem, but not the radical kind. That's partly because the other half of the population is Christian. Not only that, but the only active armed rebel movement in Eritrea is an Islamic terrorist outfit, Eritrean Islamic Jihad. This group is based in Sudan (which is basically run by an Islamic conservative dictatorship) and wants an Islamic dictatorship back home. One reason Eritrean Islamic Jihad has been quiet for the last few years, is because Eritrea has helped Sudan to broker peace deals with rebels in southern and eastern Sudan. But Eritrea is now on the Western counter-terrorism radar because the country has become hospitable to Islamic radical groups that hate the same people the current Eritrean government does.