{"id":9302,"date":"2017-11-12T19:00:34","date_gmt":"2017-11-12T19:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitederitreamedia.com\/blog12\/?p=9302"},"modified":"2017-11-12T19:01:59","modified_gmt":"2017-11-12T19:01:59","slug":"eritreas-military-got-help-u-e-foreign-firms-un-says-nizar-manek-november-11-2017-953-pm-pst-%e1%8a%a4%e1%88%ad%e1%89%b5%e1%88%ab-%e1%8a%a3%e1%89%a5-%e1%8b%9d%e1%8c%88%e1%89%a0","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/unitederitreamedia.com\/blog12\/2017\/11\/12\/eritreas-military-got-help-u-e-foreign-firms-un-says-nizar-manek-november-11-2017-953-pm-pst-%e1%8a%a4%e1%88%ad%e1%89%b5%e1%88%ab-%e1%8a%a3%e1%89%a5-%e1%8b%9d%e1%8c%88%e1%89%a0\/","title":{"rendered":"Eritrea’s Military Got Help From U.A.E., Foreign Firms, UN Says By Nizar Manek November 11, 2017, 9:53 PM PST( \u12a4\u122d\u1275\u122b \u12a3\u1265 \u12dd\u1308\u1260\u1228\u1276 \u12ab\u1265 \u1215\u130a \u12d3\u1208\u121d \u12c8\u133b\u12a2 \u12dd\u12be\u1290 \u1293\u12ed \u12c8\u1273\u1200\u12f0\u122b\u12ca \u1273\u12d5\u120a\u121d \u12a3\u1265 \u12f3\u130d\u1218 \u1218\u133d\u1293\u12d5\u1272 \u12a8\u121d\u12d8\u120b \u12ed\u130d\u1208\u133d \u12a3\u120e)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Eritrea\u2019s military received help from the United Arab Emirates and possibly Russian, Czech and Italian companies in the past year, assistance that would violate a United Nations arms embargo on<\/p>\n

the Horn of Africa country, the organization\u2019s investigators said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0Thirteen Eritrean air force and navy cadets received training at U.A.E. military colleges and seven at Emirati engineering institutions between 2012 and 2015, the investigators said in a Nov. 8<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
report to the UN Security Council, citing testimony from five cadets who defected. The U.A.E. has been building a military base in Eritrea, whose port facilities\u00a0two months ago appeared to be<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u201calmost complete with multiple vessels docked,\u201d the investigators said, citing satellite imagery.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\u00a0U.A.E. tanks and artillery have been present between the port facilities and an airport that is also being developed, the investigators said. A U.A.E. Foreign Ministry official didn\u2019t immediately<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
respond to a request for comment. Eritrean Information Minister Yemane Gebremeskel didn\u2019t comment directly on the allegations.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Eritrea, a one-party state that sits on a key shipping strait linking the Red Sea and Suez Canal, has been under UN sanctions since 2009, following allegations President Isaias Afwerki\u2019s government supports Al-Qaeda-linked rebels in Somalia. UN monitors said two years ago that the Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting in Yemen may have been offering Eritrea monetary compensation for the use of its land, airspace and territorial waters.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u2018Unwarranted Sanctions\u2019<\/div>\n

In an emailed response to Bloomberg\u2019s questions, Information Minister\u00a0Gebremeskel criticized \u201cunwarranted sanctions\u201d based on \u201cfalse allegations\u201d it supported the al-Shabaab militant group. UN investigators said they found no conclusive evidence of support given to the fighters nor of large shipments of weapons and ammunition between the two countries.<\/p>\n

The investigators also said Russia\u2019s permanent mission to the UN told them the St. Petersburg Aviation Repair Co. overhauled a Mi-17 helicopter that was transported from St. Petersburg to the<\/p>\n

Ministry of Transport and Communications in Eritrea\u2019s capital, Asmara. Satellite imagery later appeared to show the aircraft at various military sites in the country, the UN experts said.<\/p>\n

Defectors told them all helicopters operated by Eritrea\u2019s government are used by the national air force, although not necessarily exclusively. The repair company didn\u2019t immediately respond to an email seeking comment.<\/p>\n