Oral question asked in the House of Lords, by Lord Howell of Guildford (Conservative). It was answered on Thursday, 30 November 2006.

Somalia

Question: My Lords, the Minister is right that the situation is very complex. The noble Lord’s Question rightly refers to international conflict. That is not the position now, and I value the Minister’s comments that both Ethiopia and Eritrea are being rapidly sucked into this disastrous conflict, that there is a huge Somalian minority in Ethiopia and clearly the country feels threatened, and that enormous dangers portend, as the Minister has indicated, of turning the whole of the Horn of Africa into yet another area of turbulence equal to the Middle East. Can she say what information we have on active terrorist involvement in all these areas at the moment? Are there signs that the al-Qaeda franchise or other terrorists groups are operating, and how can she most clearly define Britain’s own interest in seeking to co-operate with other countries through the UN and elsewhere to prevent yet another major conflagration?

Answer: My Lords, the noble Lord mentioned the important issue of Ethiopia. We are aware of reports of Ethiopian and other foreign troops in Somalia. UK officials have delivered very strong messages to the Ethiopians to hold back from war. In respect of the wider issues of global terrorism, we monitor all the reports that are coming forward. We speak to our partners, the US, and our partners in the European Union very often on this issue. We are watching and we are ready to act when necessary; but we monitor the situation very closely.

Secondary information