Ahmed Fiqi, the Foreign Minister of Somalia, this week accused Habesha (Ethiopian) forces of being the primary reason for security crisis in Somalia.
The Foreign Minister of Somalia made these remarks addressing a gathering in Doha Qatar. This week, Somali diaspora community held a conference in Doha. Somalia diaspora from across the world attended the conference. Ahmed Fiqi, the Somali FM, was also invited.
Addressing the diaspora gathering he said,” In 2006, we won. Then Habesha arrived, 50 thousands troops. They came in when they saw that Somali people had solved their issues. The airport was closed. Mogadishu port was closed. Other ports were closed too. Later opened. For two years, we challenged Habesha including troops from Tigray. They left bleeding from their feet.”
He was referring to Ethiopian military intervention in Somalia in 2006. He went to accuse Ethiopia of creating Al Shabaab. He said after its intervention in Somalia in 2006, Ethiopia gave birth to Al Shabaab.
Since the start of this year, tensions have been escalating between Somalia and Ethiopia. The dispute arose between the neighboring countries after Ethiopia signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Somaliland to gain access to sea in return for recognizing Somaliland as a country. Somalia calls this MoU a violation of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Since January 2024, Somalia’s government officials and leaders have been accusing Ethiopia of planning to annex Somali territories and disrupting fight against Al Shabaab. Somalia’s security forces have been fighting Al Shabaab for years.
Ethiopia denies being the cause of security crisis in Somalia. Ethiopian government says that thousands of its soldiers have been deployed to Somalia for years. The Ethiopian troops are laying down their lives to protect the people and government of Somalia. On Friday, Ethiopian Foreign Ministry issued a statement. It accused Somalia of releasing false and provocative statements against Ethiopia. It expressed concerns at proliferation of lights arms in the Horn of Africa, urging the neighboring countries to co ordinate counter measures. Last week, smalls arms worth millions of dollars were looted by local ethnic militias in Somalia close to Ethiopia-Somalia border.
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