Escalating Tensions: Arms Influx Sparks Dispute Between Somalia and Ethiopia
In a sweeping view, the Mogadishu Sea Port stands with an Egyptian warship having recently docked, unloading a significant cache of weapons. This event took place in Mogadishu, Somalia, on September 23, 2024. © REUTERS/Feisal Omar. For licensing, visit Purchase Licensing Rights.
On Tuesday, Somalia angrily pointed fingers at Ethiopia, accusing it of secretly smuggling arms. The backdrop of this accusation involves fears that these weapons might fall into the hands of Islamist militants amid the turmoil in the Horn of Africa.
This tension between the neighboring nations escalated after an Egyptian warship delivered its second shipment of heavy weaponry to Mogadishu, following a security arrangement forged in August.
Landlocked Ethiopia, which has deployed thousands of troops in Somalia to combat insurgents linked to al-Qaeda, finds itself at odds with the Somali government. This discord centers around Ethiopia’s intentions to construct a port in the self-declared independent region of North Western State of Somalia in return for recognizing its sovereignty.
This brewing conflict has nudged Somalia closer to Egypt, whose relations with Ethiopia have been rocky for years, primarily due to Addis Ababa’s ambitious hydroelectric dam project on the Nile River.
Expressing his concern, Ethiopia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Taye Atske Selassie commented, as reported by the Ethiopia News Agency, that he feared bringing in weapons from external forces would only worsen the delicate security situation in Somalia and potentially arm terrorists.
Somalia’s Foreign Minister Ahmed Moalim Fiqi fired back, telling Reuters, “Ethiopia is trying to paint a misleading picture by accusing us, only to cover up their own illicit arms-smuggling activities aimed at arming civilians and terrorists within Somalia’s borders.”
Fiqi did not provide proof to back up his claims but asserted that Ethiopia sought to distract from its transgressions against Somalia’s sovereignty. Just last week, Somalia alleged that Ethiopia was funneling weapons into Northeastern State, a semi-autonomous region.
In response to these developments, Somalia has threatened to oust Ethiopian troops by year’s end unless the contentious port deal is scrapped. In December, the U.N. Security Council lifted a decades-long arms embargo that had been in place for over thirty years on Somalia.
Rashid Abdi, an analyst from the Sahan Research think tank, highlighted the high risk of these weapons getting into the wrong hands, particularly the al-Shabaab militants. He noted, “Al-Shabaab has significantly benefited from such weapons, conducting major raids and acquiring substantial arms in 2023.”
Reporting by Abdi Sheikh, Hereward Holland, and George Obulutsa; Editing by Bate Felix, Ammu Kannampilly, and Sharon Singleton.
