Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Beshir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi pledged to join forces in fighting terrorism, in a statement issued in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, Tuesday. The three leaders "strongly condemn terrorism in all its forms and are convinced that it poses a grave danger to regional and international security and stability," said the statement issued after they met in Sanaa.

Saleh, Beshir and Zenawi "agreed to coordinate efforts to stand up to the challenge posed by terrorism in the region," it added.

The three leaders also discussed the situation in the Horn of Africa and backed efforts by the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to establish peace in Sudan, denouncing "any interference in Sudan's internal affairs."

IGAD, an east African regional grouping of Sudan, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Uganda and Somalia, oversees peace talks between Khartoum and the rebel Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).

The Yemeni, Sudanese and Ethiopian leaders also backed a peace conference that opened in the northwest Kenyan town of Eldoret on Tuesday, likewise under IGAD auspices, aimed at ending the civil war raging in Somalia since 1991.

Both Beshir and Zenawi were later on hand at the opening.

On other issues, the three leaders called for "international protection for the Palestinians" and implementation of relevant UN resolutions leading to the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with east Jerusalem as its capital.

They also urged the international community to encourage "diplomatic efforts aimed at closing the Iraqi file" and averting a US attack on Baghdad.

PHOTO CAPTION

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh, his Sudanese counterpart Omar al-Beshir and Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi pledged to join forces in fighting terrorism, in a statement issued in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2002.