UN General Assembly
2002

and the grief. They reiterate their condolences to those who lost their loved ones, and they stand in solidarity with the American people at this trying time. Indeed, the attacks of 11 September have inevitably changed the way we live and the way we see our world. This day has symbolized the alarm clock that rung around the world to wake us all. My delegation regrets that it took attacks of such magnitude to shake us from our unwatchful sleep. 22 Terrorism is not a new phenomenon in my country. The State of Eritrea has suffered it since its formal independence, in 1993, as the youngest country in Africa. The Eritrean Islamic Jihad Movement and the so-called Eritrean Popular Islamic Conference were created and sponsored by Al Qaeda and other regional and international Islamic groups to perpetrate subversive acts in Eritrea for the last 10 years. In 1994, Eritrean security forces intercepted a mixed group of terrorists that included in their ranks Al Qaeda-trained nationals from several countries. In 1995, this group murdered four Belgian tourists inside Eritrea in cold