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Sunday January 7, 2024
Somali protesters hold banners and chants slogans during a demonstration in support of Somalia’s government following the port deal signed between Ethiopia and the breakaway region of Somaliland at Eng Yariisow Stadium in Mogadishu on 3 January 2024. AFP – ABDISHUKRI HAYBE
Mogadishu (HOL) – The Ethiopian military’s recent Facebook statement regarding Red Sea matters and the maritime agreement with the self-declared Republic of Somaliland has sparked concerns in Somalia.
In the statement, Ethiopia reminisces about historical sea access , and expressed worries about piracy and terrorism in the Somali Sea affecting Ethiopian interests.
Somalia views Ethiopia’s focus on securing the sea with suspicion, raising questions about its motives.
On October 13, Prime Minister Abiy highlighted Ethiopia’s reliance on the Red Sea and the Nile. “Ethiopia is an island surrounded by water but a country that is thirsty,” he said. “The Red Sea and the Nile will determine Ethiopia. They are interlinked with Ethiopia and will be the fundamentals that will either bring in Ethiopia’s development or bring about its demise.”
The agreement, signed in Addis Ababa, grants Ethiopia a 50-year lease on a naval base with access to Somaliland’s Berbera port for commercial marine operations. Mogadishu views the deal as an act of “aggression” and any international recognition of Somaliland as an attack on Somalia’s sovereignty.
The maritime deal also faces substantial international condemnation.
On Saturday, President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud signed a law overturning the Ethiopia-Somaliland agreement, following approval by both houses of Somalia’s Federal Parliament. The law’s enactment comes after both legislative houses deemed the agreement invalid during an emergency parliamentary session this week, citing violations of international norms and undermining Somalia’s territorial integrity.
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