Eritrea leader illness claim is a 'CIA fairytale'

Eritrea accuses the CIA of spreading rumours about the health of President Issaias Afeworki. By MICHELE SIBILONI (AFP/File)

NAIROBI (AFP) - Eritrean President Issaias Afeworki is at the "peak of his health" the secretive Red Sea state said Monday, in a statement aimed to quash rumours the authoritarian leader is sick.

Blaming "demonising campaigns" by the United States spy agency for the rumours, Asmara released a rare statement commenting on the ex-rebel turned president's health.

"An intensive campaign of rumour purporting that 'President Issaias is terminally ill, his health is deteriorating,' has been spread over the last few weeks," it added.

"The fact that the source of this fairytale is none other than... the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) could not even deceive the naive."

Opposition websites have claimed the president is suffering from a serious liver illness and has been treated in Qatar.

"Rumours notwithstanding, President Isaias is in robust health, and by all means of medical standard, is at the peak of his health," the information ministry said in a statement.