Thursday 5, Sep 2024 {HMC} Field Marshal Birhanu Jula, Commander of the Ethiopian National Defence Forces (ENDF), and his deputy, General Abebaw Taddese, arrived in Jigjiga, the capital of Ethiopia’s Somali regional state, on Thursday.
The delegation was welcomed at Jigjiga Airport by Somali Regional State President Mustafe Cagjar, Security Leader Dayib Ahmednur, and other local officials. The high-ranking military officials are in Jigjiga to participate in the 47th-anniversary celebrations of the Eastern Ethiopian Command Forces, marking the first time the event is being held in Jigjiga.
According to local media, Field Marshal Birhanu Jula will also inaugurate a new training center at Garab’ase Camp, located on the outskirts of the town.
The visit comes amid heightened tensions in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia has recently deployed armored vehicles and hundreds of troops to its border with Somalia, following the delivery of Egyptian weapons to Somalia under a new defense agreement.
The growing regional discord follows Ethiopia’s signing of a preliminary agreement with Somaliland, a breakaway region of Somalia. The deal, which leases coastal land in Somaliland in exchange for potential recognition of its independence, has drawn strong objections from Somalia and strengthened ties between Somalia and Egypt.
Egypt is concerned that Ethiopia’s continued filling of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on the Nile River will reduce the water supply to Egypt and Sudan, further exacerbating regional tensions.
