Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud (Reuters)
Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said his country "will defend itself" if Ethiopia goes ahead with an agreement to establish a naval base in the breakaway region of Somaliland and possibly recognize the region as an independent state, in the latest sign of escalating tensions between Mogadishu and Addis Ababa.
Ethiopia, a landlocked country, announced on January 1 that it had signed a memorandum of understanding to lease 20 kilometers of coastline in Somaliland, an area that Mogadishu considers part of the mother country, even though it has enjoyed de facto autonomy since 1991 without finding any. No international recognition.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed expressed his country's desire to establish a naval base and lease the port of Berbera on the southern coast of the Gulf of Aden for 50 years, and in return offered possible recognition of Somaliland. This step would grant Addis Ababa access to the Red Sea, which sparked a response. Somalia acted in defiance and fears that the agreement would lead to further destabilization in the Horn of Africa.
Somalia and several Western countries, including the United States, which regularly carry out strikes against militants in that country, say the Ethiopian port deal has boosted Al-Shabaab's recruitment efforts.
The Somali president told Reuters that according to them and according to intelligence sources, some of the new recruits are nationalists who joined because of the recent port deal that Ethiopia concluded with Somaliland.
Immediately after the announcement of the agreement, Somalia considered it null and void, and on January 18, it rejected any mediation unless Ethiopia withdraws from its agreement on the base with Somaliland.
The Somali Ministry of Foreign Affairs said - in a statement published on its electronic accounts - "There is no room for mediation unless Ethiopia withdraws from the illegal memorandum of understanding and reaffirms Somalia's sovereignty and territorial integrity."
Tension mounts
The Somali President's statements come in the midst of escalating tension with Ethiopia, the latest of which was the Somali President accusing the Ethiopian government of trying to obstruct the participation of his country's delegation under his leadership in the African Union Summit held in Addis Ababa on February 17 and 18 of this year.
Last October, the Ethiopian Prime Minister said that his country's existence is "linked to the Red Sea," adding that "if we (the countries of the Horn of Africa) intend to live together in peace, we must find a way to mutually engage with each other in a balanced way."
Source: Al Jazeera + Reuters