By Katie Nguyen NAIROBI, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf said on Thursday his security forces had uncovered evidence implicating rival Islamists in plans to assassinate him and other top interim government officials. Yusuf, who escaped a car bomb attack last month, also told Western and African diplomats meeting in Nairobi he was concerned about peace talks with the religious movement, which took Mogadishu in June and controls a swathe of south Somalia. Yusuf had initially blamed al Qaeda for the Sept. 18 attack in the government seat of Baidoa, Somalia's first known suicide bombing. The Islamic Courts Union (ICU) accused foe Ethiopia. "As a result of the investigation, our security forces have seized recent ICU documents listing a considerable number of TFI leaders condemned as infidels and a target for immediate physical elimination," Yusuf said in a statement obtained by Reuters, referring to the transitional federal institutions. "A collection of foreign terrorists of Afghan, Chechen, Arab and even of European origin make up a considerable number of the ICU jihadist forces," he added. Ibrahim Hassan Addow, the Islamist in charge of foreign affairs, called the comments "an irresponsible statement". The remarks came during a Nairobi meeting convened by the International Contact Group. Participants, including the United States, European nations, the United Nations, African Union and the Arab League, urged the two parties to send their leaders to a next round of Arab League-mediated talks scheduled for Oct. 30 in Khartoum. CONTINUED VIOLENCE In his statement to the group, Yusuf cited a document, signed by Islamist leader Sheikh Hassan Dahir Aweys, described as an order from the Islamists approving both his and Prime Minister Ali Mohamed Gedi's assassination. He said the document also approved the killing of 16 other politicians and referred to the seizure of the port of Kismayu, which the Islamists took last month, and the positioning of Shabab youth wing fighters along the border with Kenya. Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi told the parliament in Addis Ababa on Thursday Islamist troops were within 15 km (9 miles) of the Ethiopian border. He said their ranks included gunmen from Indonesia, Pakistan, the Arab world and other African nations. The Islamists have strongly denied having foreign fighters in their ranks. The Islamist movement's Addow denied accusations the group had engaged in military expansion by taking control of Kismayu."That is inaccurate. We didn't invade government territory, or any other area. Invasion results in bloodshed. Where has there been bloodshed," he told reporters before briefing members of the Contact Group at the Nairobi meeting. The Contact Group expressed concern over the threat of militarisation in Somalia -- in particular violations of previous Khartoum agreements -- and called on the Islamists to refrain from any further expansion. Diplomats fear the Somali crisis could spark a regional conflict across the Horn of Africa. ERITREAN INVOLVEMENT U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jendayi Frazer accused Eritrea on Thursday of opening another front against foe Ethiopia by shipping arms to Somali Islamists. "We have pretty clear evidence that's a fact," she told reporters at the Contact Group meeting. Frazer said Ethiopia and Eritrea were using Somalia to play out a festering dispute over their border. Eritrea has denied any involvement in Somalia but a U.N. Security Council report in May said it has sent weapons. The Islamists accuse Ethiopia of invading Somalia with troops to prop up the government. They have declared holy war against Ethiopia, which calls them terrorists. Yusuf said there had been continuous and gross violations of agreements to stop military campaigns, as the Islamists seized more territory, and he accused the Arab League of favouring the Islamists. Unless the international community urgently addressed those concerns, the peace process would be "meaningless", Yusuf said. He called for regional group IGAD to lead the talks with international support, including from the Contact Group. In a communique the group said it supported the idea of the Arab League and Kenya, as chair of IGAD, jointly mediating. (Additional reporting by Sahal Abdulle in Mogadishu, Marie-Louise Gumuchian in Nairobi, Tsegaye Tadesse in Addis Ababa)
