MOGADISHU: Somalia said on Thursday that there was no room for mediation in a dispute with Ethiopia unless Addis Ababa canceled a controversial maritime agreement with the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Tensions in the Horn of Africa have soared after landlocked Ethiopia reached a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Somaliland on 1 January that gives it much sought-after access to the sea.
There is no space for mediation unless Ethiopia retracts its illegal deal and reaffirms the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia, the country’s foreign ministry said in a statement shared on its official social media accounts.
The statement comes after the African Union’s (AU) conflict resolution body on Wednesday discussed the crisis between the two countries.
The Peace and Security Council urged them to exercise restraint, de-escalate and engage in meaningful talks toward finding a peaceful resolution of the issue.
East Africa grouping IGAD is also holding an extraordinary summit in Uganda on Thursday on the Somalia-Ethiopia feud, as well as the conflict in Sudan.
International players call for Somalia’s sovereignty to be respected
Other global players including the US, European Union, Arab League, and China have also called for Somalia’s sovereignty to be respected.
Mogadishu has branded the agreement an act of “aggression” by Ethiopia, which has in turn insisted no laws have been transgressed.
Somalia’s President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has also warned it could open the way to a “revival” of Al-Shabab, the militant group that has been waging a bloody war against the central government for more than fifteen years.
Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Wednesday termed the deal as a blatant attack against African, Arab, and international principles, and a clear violation of international law.
Under the deal, Somaliland agreed to lease twenty kilometers of its coast for fifty years to Ethiopia, which wants to establish a naval base and a commercial port on the coast.
