The Somali Prime Minister on Friday accused Ethiopia of a ‘flagrant’ violation of its territorial integrity at the UN, as tensions between the two neighbors reached a new level in recent weeks.
‘Somalia faces a serious threat due to Ethiopia’s recent actions which blatantly violate our territorial integrity,’ said Hamza Abdi Barre, against a backdrop of rapprochement between Addis Ababa and the Somali separatist region of Somaliland.
Historically stormy relations between the two neighbors in the Horn of Africa have deteriorated since the announcement on January 1 of the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Ethiopia and Somaliland, denounced by Mogadishu as an ‘aggression ‘ against its sovereignty.
This text provides for the rental for 50 years to Ethiopia, a huge landlocked country, of 20 km of coastline of Somaliland, which unilaterally proclaimed its independence in 1991. The Somaliland authorities affirm that in exchange for this access to the sea, the Ethiopia would become the first country to officially recognize their republic.
‘Ethiopia’s attempt to annex part of Somalia under the pretext of securing access to the sea is both illegal and unnecessary,’ insisted the Somali Prime Minister at the UN. In response, since January, Mogadishu has intensified its relations with Cairo, Ethiopia’s rival.
Egypt notably offered for the first time to contribute to the African Union force deployed since 2007 in Somalia to fight the radical Islamists Shebab. A new mission (AUSSOM), currently under discussion, must take over from the current one (Atmis) in January.
This proposal echoes statements by senior Somali officials asserting that an agreement between Addis Ababa and Somaliland would make inevitable the departure of Ethiopian troops contributing to this force, as well as those deployed bilaterally, notably to protect its border from incursions. shebab.
The escalation of tensions between Somalia and Ethiopia is worrying in an unstable region, particularly plagued by the Shebab insurgency.
/ATS
