Saturday January 27, 2024
“When it comes to Somalia’s unity, this government cannot be tattled,” said Ethiopian PM Abiy Ahmed on Wednesday during a meeting with the central committee members of his party – video footage of which were released on Wednesday and Thursday on state-owned media.
He emphasized that there is no interest in conflict with Somalia. “Ethiopia has absolutely no interest in fighting against Somalia,” he said.
The Prime Minister seems to relate the reaction to the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland to ongoing propaganda war. “When it comes to the Somaliland issue, initially, when we stated the need for a seaport, there was an extensive campaign implying that we were going to fight over Assab (part of Eritrea for the past 30 years). Now, when it involves Somaliland, the situation is not that it is welcomed; we are not fighting over Assab. Somaliland itself became the agenda,” Abiy told central committee members of his party.
Portraying Somalia as a brother, relative, and neighbor, more than anyone – as he puts it, he asserted that no country in the world has paid as much sacrifice as Ethiopia in support of Somalia. He stated that tens of thousands of Ethiopians sacrificed their lives in Somalia in defense of Somalia’s peace for over a decade now.
He also claimed efforts to unify Somalia by arranging a meeting between Somalia’s former president, Farmajo, and Somaliland President Musa Bihi Abdi.
Ethiopia and Somalia’s relationship is deteriorating after the MoU agreement with Somaliland, which was signed on January 1, 2024. Somalia sees it as a violation of its sovereignty and warns that it could go to war if implemented. To that end, Somalia has received assurance of support from Egypt and the Arab League. It also had a conversation with Eritrea about the development when Somali President Hassan Sheik visited Asmara last week.
Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did not confirm whether he is going ahead with the agreement, which was initially planned to be completed in one month from the time the MoU was signed. In an interview he gave this Wednesday, Musa Bihi Abdi said Somaliland will not allow Ethiopia to build a port in the area to be given to Ethiopia as a naval base.
Ethiopia has tens of thousands of troops in Somalia as part of the African Union Peacekeeping Mission and a bilateral arrangement with the government of Somalia. There are reports that Ethiopian troops based in Kismayo are withdrawing.
