Recent statements by Mr. Herui T. Bairou have infuriated neighboring nations and member organizations of the umbrella movement he heads.  Mr. Herui T. Bairou is the Secretary General of the Eritrean National Alliance (ENA), a coalition of opposition groups.

On 1 May, Mr. Herui T. Bairou reportedly told IRIN, UN�s information distribution network, that his organization has set up a military wing that will target Eritrea�s �institutions and the economy� and that �ENA was receiving funds from Sudan, Ethiopia and Yemen.�

In mid April, representatives of the thirteen organizations who make up the ENA had met in Khartoum, Sudan and discussed ways of placing their armed wings under joint command, a principle they had agreed to in earlier meetings.  At the meeting, Mr. Tewelde Gebreselassie, the leader of People�s Democratic Front for the Liberation of Eritrea (Sagem), expressed strong objections over the proposed unification of the army and withdrew from the meeting partly because it was agreed to by the secretariat and not the congress of the ENA.

The total number of armed groups of the ENA are estimated to be around 2,000.  Another 2,000 experienced combatants are recent defectors from PFDJ who are now stationed in Ethiopia.  The latter have no affiliation with the ENA and strongly identify with Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) and its leader Semere Kesete who are not members of the ENA.

Sudanese, Ethiopian and Yemenese officials were reportedly upset by Herui T Bairou�s speech because he placed their nations in an awkward political position of explaining their activities.  �Denial is a flexible tool in diplomacy,� explained a Sudanese intelligence officer to our source.  

Meanwhile, the Eritrean Liberation Front-Revolutionary Council (ELF-RC) is scheduled to hold a meeting during the first week of June to discuss its impasse with the ENA.   The ELF-RC walked out from the Alliance meeting in October of last year and its status is still on suspension.