Addis Ababa - The Ethiopian Prime Minister, Mr Meles Zenawi, said yesterday his government would teach Eritrea a lesson if it failed to withdraw from Ethiopian territory. Mr Meles said he was prepared to "go the extra mile" for mediation in the conflict between the Horn of Africa neighbours, but he said the Ethiopian government was also preparing for war.
"What we will try to do if they don't withdraw is to ensure their invading army is removed from our territory and make sure a lesson will have been learned," Mr Meles said. He stressed that Ethiopia had no territorial claims on Eritrea and no intention of interfering domestically with the government of the Eritrean President, Mr Isayas Afewerki.
"Our target is to reverse the invasion . . . The political objective is to make sure the invasion does not take place again," he said in an interview.