What prompted Somalia’s president Hassan Sheikh to meet Ethiopia’s PM Abiy Ahmed
Why Hassan Sheikh’s Addis visit matters: a recalibration in the Horn
At a glance
When Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud arrived in Addis Ababa this week for talks with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the official line was familiar: friendly neighbours discussing “bilateral and regional issues of mutual interest.” Behind the diplomatic language, however, lay a fraught effort by Mogadishu to reshape the political map of southern Somalia — and to pull a wary Ethiopia into the middle of a struggle that has implications for…