Hamza Abdi Barre, the Prime Minister of Somalia, lashed out at Ethiopia addressing the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA) on Friday. He fiercely criticized Ethiopia over the latter’s deal with the self-declared republic of Somaliland to lease a strip of coastline in return for recognizing Somaliland as a country. Somaliland is internationally recognized part of Somalia. But it has been operating as a separate entity for around 3 decades.
The Prime Minister of Somalia said, “Somali ports have always been accessible for Ethiopia’s legitimate commercial activities, reflecting our commitment to regional trade and cooperation. However, Ethiopia’s aggressive maneuvers, including its controversial agreement with one of our regional administration, undermines Somali sovereignty and embolden secessionist movements, threatening our national unity.”
He accused the deal of serving as “propaganda for terrorist groups like Al-Shabaab who exploit Ethiopian provocations to recruit and radicalize vulnerable individuals.”
Earlier this week, Taye Aske Selaisse, the Ethiopian Foreign Minister, addressed the UNGA. In his speech, he defended Ethiopian MoU with Somaliland saying that it was in accordance with existing political realities. He advised Somalia to join hands to fight local terrorist groups. Without naming Egypt, the Ethiopian FM criticized “external elements” for destabilizing the Horn of Africa. Egypt, at odds with Ethiopia over GERD (Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam), is providing military support to Somalia. Somalia has received at least 2 arms shipments from Egypt in recent weeks.
Ethiopia and Somalia have held two rounds of talks so far under the auspices of Turkey but the two sides could not reach any agreement.
Read more..
Somalia Reacts to Ethiopian Concern about Arms Deliveries