A United Nations report says the Eritrean government planned a large scale attack on an African Union meeting earlier this year in Addis Ababa.

The U.N. Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea says that if the attack was executed as planned there would have almost certainly been civilian casualties.

It says the planned attack is one of several violations of U.N. Security Council arms embargoes committed by Eritrea.

The 400 page report says Eritrea has a continuing relationship with Al-Shabab, the Islamist militant group that controls parts of Somalia.

Eritrea has denied providing the militants with financial help. But the U.N. report says research indicates Eritrean support for armed groups in Somalia is not limited to the political and humanitarian dimensions.

The U.N. says Eritrean involvement in Somalia indicates a larger pattern of backing armed opposition groups.