Egypt and Somalia collaborate on security efforts as regional unease grows over Cairo’s expanding influence in the Horn of Africa

The defense deal between Egypt and Somalia has stirred up worries about Cairo’s clout in the Horn of Africa. [Getty]

Recently, Egypt and Somalia have been engaging in high-level security discussions. These talks focus on the stationing of Egyptian forces as part of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). This move has sparked regional apprehensions regarding Egypt’s growing strategic and military sway in the Horn of Africa.

According to a senior Egyptian security official, “A significant meeting took place in Mogadishu involving an Egyptian security team made up of high-ranking military and intelligence officials, alongside their Somali counterparts, to sort out the logistics for upcoming joint military exercises and operations.” This source requested anonymity as they weren’t authorized to speak to the media.

‘Influence concerns’

Back in August, Cairo and Mogadishu inked a defense accord amid a spat with Ethiopia. Under this agreement, 5,000 Egyptian troops are set to be deployed in Somalia, particularly in regions bordering Ethiopia, forming part of a larger African peacekeeping initiative slated to conclude in December. Overall, the mission will include nearly 11,000 personnel.

The Egyptian official further explained, “The security deal outlines Egypt’s responsibility to supply military gear and assign officers to oversee command centers in the Hiran area near the Ethiopian border,” though they didn’t provide additional specifics.

Beyond troop deployment, the defense pact involves a swap of intelligence data. This exchange might empower Egypt to conduct intelligence activities and liaise with insurgent factions in Ethiopia.

This recent Egypt-Somalia alliance has rattled some of Somalia’s neighboring countries. The East African, a publication based in Kenya, reported last week that nations contributing troops to AMISOM—like Uganda, Kenya, Burundi, and Djibouti—are feeling jittery about Egypt becoming a “new-found buddy” to Somalia.

The publication also indicated that incorporating Egyptian forces into AMISOM at the expense of Ethiopian troops, active since 2014, represents “a strategic boon for Egypt.”

The Egyptian source posited, “Ethiopia and its allies have stirred these objections to curtail our influence and troop deployment in the Horn of Africa, fearing an inevitable military face-off due to the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam [GERD] construction.”

For over ten years, tensions have persisted between Ethiopia and Egypt over the dam on the Blue Nile, impacting water allocations for Egypt and Sudan.

Earlier this year, rifts widened between Somalia and Ethiopia when Addis Ababa struck a deal with North Western State of Somalia to lease part of its coastline for a military installation, in exchange for recognizing the region’s independence.

Since declaring its independence in 1991, North Western State of Somalia’s sovereignty remains unacknowledged by the international community.

Edited by: Ali Musa

Axadle international–Monitoring