Monday 9, Dec, 2024 {HMC} Jubbaland Minister of Security, General Yusuf Hussein Osman Dhumaal, has rejected accusations from the Federal Government that two Ethiopian planes carrying weapons landed in Kismayo on Saturday.
Speaking to VOA Somali, Minister Dhumaal dismissed the accusation as baseless. “The government should not have made such an accusation without evidence,” he said. He further noted that Ethiopia has a military presence across several regions in Somalia, including Gedo, Bay, Bakool, and Hiiran.
Dhumaal also refuted reports that Ethiopian troops attempting to establish a base in Bula Hawo faced resistance from local residents. The federal government previously accused the Jubbaland administration of soliciting Ethiopian support to counter Somali federal army forces in the region.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister of Information Abdirahman Yusuf Al-Adala criticized Ethiopia’s alleged “illegal and expansionist activities,” accusing it of supplying arms to Somali regions and recruiting militias to destabilize the country. Al-Adala underlined that Ethiopia is smuggling weapons into Puntland and Galmudug and gathering militias in Hirshabelle to undermine Somalia’s sovereignty.
The neighbors have been at loggerheads since landlocked Ethiopia in January struck a deal with Somalia’s breakaway region Somaliland to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base in exchange for recognition, although Addis Ababa has not confirmed this.
