About 13,000 Ethiopian and allied troops will exit Somalia by year’s end, making way for a revamped mission anticipated to commence the following year.
“Ethiopia’s recent solo actions, like signing an illegitimate pact with Somalia’s northern area, breach our sovereign rights and damage the trust needed for peacekeeping,” declared Somalia’s Foreign Ministry in a Wednesday pronouncement.
Regional diplomats fret over escalating tensions related to troop involvement in the upcoming peacekeeping force, fearing it might spark a clash between Ethiopia and Somalia.
When approached for comment, Ethiopia’s Foreign Ministry remained silent.
For nearly two decades, Somalia has contended with insurgent Islamist factions. Due to the lasting wounds of civil conflict and an ongoing rebellion, external military assistance is crucial for Somalia’s fragile economy.
The future mission demands a more deliberate choice of military partners to ensure that the African Union Stabilization Mission in Somalia aligns with the nation’s vision for development and security, as suggested in the official statement.
As tensions simmer between Somalia and Ethiopia, Egypt has cozied up to Somalia, dispatching several loads of military provisions to Mogadishu earlier this annum.
This Egyptian assistance has further irked Ethiopia, entangled in an enduring quarrel with the North African country over a massive hydropower dam on the Nile’s prime tributary, a river upon which Egypt heavily depends for its water supply.
–Additional insights provided by Fasika Tadesse.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
