African Union summit opens

[XXPANTHAXX]

ADDIS ABABA, (AFP) - The African Union's 12th summit opened Sunday in
Ethiopia with an agenda officially focused on infrastructure development
but overshadowed by conflict and hunger on the continent.

The 53-nation body's summit of heads of state and government got under
way in the Ethiopian capital behind closed doors and without any formal
opening ceremony, an AFP correspondent reported.

The official agenda focused on infrastructure and development, while
recent coups in west Africa and conflicts around the region also
demanded leaders' attention.

But their first day of talks Sunday centres on the eventual creation of
a "United States of Africa".

As the continent continues to struggle from economic underachievement
and a seemingly never-ending cycle of political strife, plans of
integration have long garnered verbal support but have always failed to
materialise.

This year, analysts expect no exception.

"The union government is an issue which is deadlocked at the moment,"
said Delphine Lecoutre, a researcher specializing on the continental
bloc.

"There is a clear lack of will on the part of many member states, they
are really frightened by the possibility of being under a union
government. They would want to safeguard their sovereignty by all
means," she says.