On Monday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Somaliland President Muse Bihi Abdi signed a memorandum of understanding allowing Ethiopia to lease 20 kilometers of coastline to build its own naval base.
A statement from the Ethiopian prime minister’s office said the agreement will strengthen the economic, political and security partnership between Ethiopia and Somaliland.
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called the agreement a violation of international law. “We will not stand by and watch our sovereignty be threatened,” he told a joint session of Somalia’s federal parliament.
Somaliland separated from Somalia in 1991 when the country fell into a conflict led by warlords. The region has maintained its governance despite little international recognition.
According to the president of Somaliland, the agreement also contains a clause according to which Ethiopia recognizes Somaliland as an independent country.
Mohamud said Somalia has a long history with Ethiopia and that peaceful coexistence is the only way to ensure lasting peace in the region.
In doing so, he expressed concern that Ethiopia’s presence could lead to extremism, citing Ethiopia’s 2006 invasion of Somalia, which led to the rise of the extremist group al-Shabab.
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2024-01-03 15:03:00
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