A few days before US President Donald Trump announced the normalization of bilateral relations between the UAE and Israel, and before Emirati accounts were abuzz with promoting this news as it falls within the "Emirates of Happiness" plan to stop further annexation of Palestinian lands to the occupied land; The Emirati media was preoccupied this time with another issue, as “the conversation of the time at that time for the Emirati media was related to the formation of two Somali tribes before the parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled to be held next December, and according to these means, the main goal of this alliance is The expulsion of President Muhammad Abdullah Farmajo and the “Doha Men” in Somalia, as she put it. Although the two-tribal alliance remains a “natural thing” in light of the African country’s preparations for the elections; Currently, there are two options: either to leave or enter a civil war.
In fact, the increasing number of media reports devoted to forming a regional and global opinion that incites the growing role of Qatar and Turkey in Somalia - since the UAE turned its face away from the central government of Somalia after the neutral position of Somalia in the Gulf crisis in 2017 - shows Abu Dhabi's always resentment of the relationship that can Half of it is strong between Qatar and Turkey with the central Somali government. In addition to a series of trade agreements, diplomatic exchanges and humanitarian cooperation between these parties, the Emirati concern about military and political cooperation increases, under this cooperation Qatar supported Mogadishu with 68 armored vehicles, while Ankara established its most important military base abroad in the Somali capital, and even the Turkish presence in Somalia It took a greater security dimension to confront Abu Dhabi’s decision to invest in the port of Berbera in the separatist "Somaliland" region, a decision that comes in the context of indirectly striking against Ankara and Doha, as supporters of the Mogadishu government.
However, in recent months, there has been a noticeable change in Abu Dhabi's strategy towards Mogadishu. After the differences in the position on the Gulf crisis had led to a similar break between them. With the upcoming presidential elections approaching, and the possibility of a new president coming to power in Somalia, Abu Dhabi wants to have a foothold in the future administration. Therefore, when it wanted to practice "Corona virus diplomacy", the UAE was rich in its support for Somalia as it did not do with any other country in the Horn of Africa, as it wanted to emerge again as a "supporter and sponsor for this poor country", so it was sent on the 14th of April. The past plane loaded with medical supplies serving about 27,000 health care workers, and in cooperation with the World Health Organization, planes landed on Somaliland carrying about 27 tons of these supplies, and then, one month later, Abu Dhabi returned the ball and sent alone 35 tons of medical supplies To combat the virus, she also did not forget to carry humanitarian aid for those affected by the floods that struck Somalia and flooded its cities and villages recently.
In its endeavors to show more signs of breaking the deadlock in relations, Abu Dhabi did not hesitate on July 1 to offer the Somali government a quid pro quo under which the Sheikh Zayed Hospital would reopen in the capital Mogadishu, which was closed as a result of disagreements in exchange for the country's support for the Emirati position in Yemen, as encouraged by the developments resulting from the control of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council over the Yemeni island of Socotra, the Dora of the Gulf of Aden, on 20 June.
More than two decades ago, the UAE found in one of the poorest countries in the Horn of Africa, "Somalia", a fertile land in which to establish a foothold of influence in the continent. This country is hungry for money and humanitarian aid, especially after the collapse of the central government of Siad Barre in 1991, which has become a center for humanitarian activity that it provides. Emirates Red Crescent Society. This activity covers 14 main sectors and more than 30 sub-sectors, the most important of which are the education sector, health, social services, and public health. As the Emirates News Agency (WAM) states about the total aid to Somalia (including the separatist regions): “What was sent to Somalia from Aid from 2010 until March 2020 amounted to 1.2 billion dirhams, benefiting more than 1.2 million Somalis, and more than half of the aid (58.3%) was provided for development aid purposes, amounting to 695 million dirhams.
However, after the arrival of the Emirati mission to Mogadishu and the appointment of an extraordinary Emirati ambassador in 2013, the Emirati interest in humanitarian projects in Somalia began to decline in favor of political and military goals, as if Abu Dhabi trained as part of the training program that was overseeing several training courses for thousands of Somali soldiers between 2014- 2018, pays the salaries of hundreds of Somali soldiers.
However, the Gulf crisis, in which Saudi Arabia and the UAE besieged the State of Qatar in 2017, constituted - as previously mentioned - a focal point in the UAE's relationship with the central Somali government. As a result, the Somalis departed from Abu Dhabi, which, like its other allies, wanted to extract a position in support of the blockading countries against Qatar, as the Somali President Muhammad bin Abdullah Muhammad chose to remain neutral. After that, relations deteriorated sharply between Mogadishu and Abu Dhabi when the Somali parliament approved a bill in March 2018 prohibiting the economic and military activities of the UAE in the country, and then, about a month later, Somalia confiscated Emirati funds estimated at $ 9.6 million, which the government said was allocated to fueling the conflict. Between the government in Mogadishu and the restive and separatist regions in Somalia, to push the Somali stances Abu Dhabi to end the training program for the Somali army and stop development aid.
The previous dispute caused Abu Dhabi to divert its support and operations towards the two northern provinces that seek independence from the central government, namely, "Somaliland" and the semi-autonomous "Puntland" region, in which the militants control a geopolitical strategic position that extends along the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden. The UAE headed towards a steeper line towards the central government, and started pumping its money into the pockets of opponents of the central government until it became the largest amount of foreign money entering the Somaliland region, bringing the case to the UAE through its arm, DP World, by pumping 442 million dollars into the port of Berbera of the breakaway Somaliland , Thanks to an agreement between the two sides to operate both the port and the airport in exchange for the development of several projects.
In a striking scene, as behind him a large banner of pictures of the leaders of the Emirates appeared, and in front of him was a huge plate of various fruits, the Emirati historian Hamad Al-Matroushi sat on a chair painted in golden color, talking enthusiastically in front of the sheikhs and people of the Yemeni province of Socotra archipelago that his country would work to make their region part From the UAE, and to grant its residents Emirati citizenship. In the clip that was leaked at the end of 2018, the Emirati historian said that most of the inhabitants of the emirate of Ajman have their roots from Socotra, so "Socotra residents will be part of the UAE and will be granted its nationality, this matter has become a foregone conclusion."
The spokesman, who is an Emirati, says that Socotra will be part of the Emirates and that citizenship will be granted to all the sons of Socotra, and this is a foregone conclusion. This is how the UAE deals with Yemen as if it were Emirati lands that support the factions that want and arrest those who want and support militias against the state and want Socotra to be deducted for it (a war effort) pic.twitter.com/43ScRVumo3
- Mukhtar Al-Rahbi (@rahbi5) December 30, 2018
Of course, Al-Matroushi was not officially responsible, but he realized that his country's goals would bear fruit in the near future, for this natural piece that is the object of the greed of regional and international powers that seek to establish bases for them around the Horn of Africa, the UAE saw that it is closest to it than others; Since 2015, the island of the exclusive western trees, cacti and desert roses has become the focus of great Emirati interest. In its poor villages, the Emirati flag is raised, and in its fields, messages of thanks for the Emirati aid are spread, so that in November of the aforementioned year, when two severe hurricanes hit the island, the UAE moved through humanitarian aid, sometimes it donated to rebuild the island from the consequences of the hurricane, and in other it provides treatment For its poor patients, and in a third it contributes to the marriage of the island’s children, then with the passage of time Abu Dhabi saw the necessity of diverting its aid from the relief position to the development job, all of which would feed into its political and military ambition, so that the UAE would work to rebuild schools, hospitals and roads, to start later on providing what it considered Socotra's population is now a "colonialism" in the archipelago, which is a major shipping lane connecting Europe and Asia.
Despite the island’s distance from the noise of war; Where no Houthi battle is being waged against them, the presence of the Emiratis has been exacerbated, clearly foreshadowing the size of the Emirati ambitions to annex this precious piece to it. Abu Dhabi has built a military base, established communications networks, and the Emiratis have carried out its own population census. And every time the UAE came close to extending its influence on the island, the Southern Transitional Military Council was the iron-fisted hand to implement its interests. On the last day of April 2018, the Emiratis sought militarily to include the island in the strategy of the chain of ports and military bases. It is located on the Horn of Africa, after it succeeded in establishing itself on the island slowly to become a regional power independent even from its Saudi ally, as the UAE was not satisfied with establishing a military base on the island and placing its forces there, and controlling and expanding the port of Hadibu to reinforce its commercial and military fall in the Indian Ocean. On the island, after it deployed 50 soldiers and military equipment, seized the port and the airport, and expelled their workers.
After about two weeks, Riyadh managed to persuade Abu Dhabi to withdraw from the island to extinguish the flames of the protests that resulted in its behavior, but this withdrawal from the first glance kept the great concerns that Abu Dhabi, which did not stop fueling the conflict in Yemen, especially in its south; It will continue to work to achieve its expansion ambition, the first of which is to restore control once again over the island off the coast of Somalia between the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and indeed what the UAE aspires to become a reality when the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council took control of the island again on 20 June 2020, and soon Yemeni sources reported in July 2020 that Abu Dhabi began establishing a military base on the island of Socotra, after the Transitional Council created a special camp on the island, naval radars and military boats to monitor maritime movement in the Indian Gulf on the island of Socotra.
However, on the 11th of August, the people of Socotra went out in the largest demonstration since the Southern Transitional Forces took control of the island in late June, denouncing the Emirati position on their island, this time the voice of the demonstrators was very disturbing, and clearly threatening the Emirati moves. UAE Armed Forces of the Transitional Council to block roads to the demonstrators.
Now, after Abu Dhabi has managed during the past two years to make the island a military and economic foothold as mentioned above, and to avoid potential threats to extending its influence on the Yemeni island of Socotra, which is located in Somali territorial waters, Abu Dhabi believes that restoring its relations with Mogadishu might help enable it to make Socotra A new link in the chain of ports and bases that it establishes along the southern edge of the Arabian Peninsula on the Red Sea, the most important of which are the port of Mukalla in Hadhramaut in the Yemeni region, Berbera in Somaliland, and the Assab region in Eritrea, as Abu Dhabi is moving towards its goals in Somalia, recalling the support of the then Somali President Hassan Sheikh For the operations of the Saudi-led international coalition in Yemen and its permission to use the country's airspace by aircraft that launched their strikes against the Houthis in Yemen, as well as the territorial waters of Somalia in the battle.
As stated in the Al-Monitor website about the UAE’s recent normalization efforts with Mogadishu: “The most important reason is concentrated around the strategic Socotra archipelago, as the island is located in the middle of one of the most important oil trade channels in the world. With the growing anger against the UAE’s presence in Socotra, Yemen, it is trying The UAE influences Somalia to reinforce its claim to the islands and use competition as an excuse to justify its continued existence. ”The report adds:“ The development of its presence in the Horn of Africa will help Abu Dhabi control the flow of trade through the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, which is a major global channel for shipping. This is also linked to the UAE’s pursuit of ports. In southern Yemen and Socotra Island, where it is also seeking a military presence, to build a strong regional influence.
Likewise, here we cannot ignore an important motive related to striking the Qatari-Turkish interests with Mogadishu, which is constantly evolving. Therefore, the Yemeni political analyst, Yassin Al-Tamimi, believes in a statement he made to the " Meydan " website that the UAE, after failing to play the terrorism card in Somalia, has now become its priority Represented by striking Turkish and Qatari interests in Somalia, as it falls within its strategic agenda, restrictions on all political projects that provide an umbrella for the Arab Spring, as the Turkish presence has gone beyond the issue of the military presence, but rather extends to very intertwined strategic, economic and developmental relations, which has become a source of great inconvenience. To Abu Dhabi, Tamimi added during his speech to " Meydan ": "Also, Abu Dhabi’s attempt today to return to Somalia has a direct relationship to the UAE’s attempt to acquire the Socotra Archipelago."
While the head of the Somalia Center for Studies, Al-Shafi’i, excludes the possibility of returning relations at the current stage in light of the continuation of the UAE’s policies towards the central government of Somalia, he explains to Meydan that “the continuation of the Dubai Ports Company’s business in Somaliland and Puntland will undermine any hopes for renewing relations, as the continuation of this UAE breach "With the right to the sovereignty of Somalia, it does not open the way for relations to return to normal, but relations between the countries can be renewed within the framework of mutual respect, diplomatically and politically."
Regarding the normalization of relations between the two countries due to the situation in Yemen, Ibtidon says to “ Maidan ”: “There have been differences between the two countries historically and geographically regarding the right to the island, but with the fall of the Somali government in 1991, the island became a Yemeni affair and Somalia did not move to search for this island. Since the right does not expire by the statute of limitations, Somalia is not currently thinking about this island as much as it is concerned with its political conditions. "
In conclusion, the UAE's efforts to move towards controlling the coasts of the Horn of Africa are evident, even if that required it to give up a little bit of its pride, which it showed by cutting aid to the central government in Somalia after its position on the blockade towards the State of Qatar. As the UAE moves to control the islands and ports of the region, and to move in a parallel line to stem any revolution and / or any independent democratic movement that does not take into account its expansionist interests, there are local calls and regional positions that reject this control and expansion at the expense of the independence of peoples, or as the people of Socotra have described it as "colonialism." It seeks to control the capabilities and destiny of the peoples of the region.