Somali President Claims Ethiopia’s Airport Takeover Breaches National Sovereignty
President Mohamud lambasted Ethiopia for its audacious moves to dominate Somali waters, accusing Addis Ababa of aiming for military supremacy.
“Ethiopia’s ambitions extend beyond acquiring a port,” stated Hassan Sheikh. “Their goal is to project military muscle in the Red Sea, which is downright intolerable. They intend to not only construct a port but also establish a naval base. Both these endeavors infringe upon Somalia’s sovereignty and flout international law.”
Dialogue between Somalia and Ethiopia has hit a brick wall, with three negotiation rounds already tanking. A fourth planned meeting fell through when Ethiopia rebuffed Somalia’s territorial rights.
Addis Ababa’s maneuvers seem aimed at stifling Egyptian military initiatives in the region. Somalia and Egypt have recently bolstered their military alliance, seeing an Egyptian warship deliver a second batch of weaponry, which included anti-aircraft artillery, last week. Cairo’s arms shipments to Somalia play a pivotal role in countering Ethiopia’s ambitions, not just locally but across the Horn of Africa.
Under a fresh defense pact, Egypt plans to dispatch troops to Somalia as part of the impending African Union Stabilization and Support Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM), set to supersede the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS).
Ethiopia, with its entrenched military presence through ATMIS, faces a deadline in December 2024 to pull out its forces. Its attempt to seize control of airports in Gedo looks like a strategic ploy to curb Egypt’s expanding footprint in Somalia, especially as the strain between Ethiopia and Egypt over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) intensifies.
President Hassan Sheikh reaffirmed Somalia’s prerogative to engage Egypt in the African Union’s new mission.
“Egypt is entitled to request participation in peacekeeping operations in Somalia, and we are within our rights to consent. Ethiopia has no say in this matter. Egypt and Somalia have long-standing ties, and we will determine who partakes in our matters,” he concluded.
Edited by: Ali Musa
Axadle international–Monitoring
