DJIBOUTI, Djibouti Mar 30 (Garowe Online) - The president of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Ghelle, has for the first time supported Ethiopia’s military intervention in neighboring Somalia.

In a Friday interview with the BBC’s Somali service, President Ghelle justified the Ethiopian intervention by saying that Ethiopia had genuine security concerns stemming from virtual lawlessness in Somalia.

“As far as I know, Ethiopia does not want to…bring problems for the people of Somalia,” President Ghelle said, adding that Ethiopia cannot sustain an occupation of Somalia due to serious financial constraints.

He appealed to the Somali people to support their transitional government, which he said had invited Ethiopia to help restore order last December.

He highlighted 13 previous attempts to restore central authority, including three past presidents who failed to accomplish that task.

The Djiboutian leader, himself an ethnic Somali, placed much emphasis on the upcoming National Reconciliation Conference, which he said would make-or-break the government.

“Somali peace and reconstruction depends on [how] the reconciliation issue is approached,” President Ghelle said. “I believe every group should be invited to the conference…except those wanting to grab power by force.”

Somalia’s interim government plans to host the NRC next month in Mogadishu where a rising insurgency has crippled the government’s efforts to disarm the public and assert its control.

“Compromise needed on both sides,” urged Ghelle, who was previously known for his vocal opposition to Ethiopia’s invasion of Somalia.

Djibouti once hosted more than 40 Somali lawmakers who refused to return home until Ethiopian troops withdraw from the country. Those MPs have since relocated to Eritrea, Ethiopia’s archrival in the region.

The tiny Horn of Africa country is also home to the only U.S. military base in Africa.

Garowe Online News