Wed 28, August 2024 {HMC} Two Egyptian military aircraft carrying personnel and equipment landed on Tuesday at Aden Adde International Airport in Mogadishu, marking the first steps in the recently signed Defense and Security Cooperation Agreement between Somalia and Egypt.
The arrival of the C-130 aircraft follows a high-profile meeting between Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo two weeks ago, where the two leaders formalized a defense pact to reinforce bilateral ties and enhance regional security cooperation.
Egypt’s military support comes amid heightened tensions in the Horn of Africa, particularly involving Ethiopia. The agreement between Somalia and Egypt is seen as part of Cairo’s broader strategy to increase its influence in the region, especially given its ongoing rivalry with Ethiopia over the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Blue Nile.
Egypt, which views the GERD as a significant threat to its water security, is likely leveraging its new defense ties with Somalia to counterbalance Ethiopia’s growing influence in the Horn of Africa.
Earlier this year, Ethiopia signed a controversial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Somaliland, a self-declared independent region that Somalia considers part of its territory. The agreement, which includes a 50-year lease of a 20-kilometer stretch of Somaliland’s coast to Ethiopia, has further strained relations between the two nations.
In a related development, Egypt and Djibouti have also offered to support a new African Union peacekeeping mission in Somalia, which is set to replace the existing force by December 2024.
The post-ATMIS force, whose details are still being finalized, is expected to begin operations on January 1, 2025, focusing on protecting Somali civilians from al-Shabaab attacks.
