President Sisi says Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia or its security

Posted 2024-01-21 20:07:07

Egypt will not allow any threat to Somalia, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Sunday after Ethiopia said it would consider recognising an independence claim by Somaliland in a deal that would give it access to a sea port.

The remarks were the strongest yet made on the issue by Egypt, which already has frosty relations with Ethiopia, and were a sign that Cairo may get involved in a dispute that has raised fresh tensions in the volatile Horn of Africa.

Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991 but has not won recognition from any country. The port lease deal, which was agreed earlier this month but not yet finalised, would be a boon to landlocked Ethiopia and has enraged Somalia.

"Egypt will not allow anyone to threaten Somalia or affect its security," Sisi said, speaking at a news conference with visiting Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud.

"Do not try Egypt, or try to threaten its brothers especially if they ask it to intervene," he added.

In a Jan. 1 memorandum of understanding, Ethiopia said it would consider recognising Somaliland's independence in return for the port access. It would lease 20 km (12 miles) of coastland around the port of Berbera, on the Gulf of Aden, for 50 years for military and commercial purposes.

Ethiopia's current main port for maritime exports is in the neighbouring country of Djibouti.

"My message to Ethiopia is that ... trying to seize a piece of land to control it is something no one will agree to," Sisi said, saying cooperation on development was a better strategy.

Ethiopia on Sunday rejected criticism from Egypt over the deal, saying it was merely a commercial agreement aimed at securing access to the sea and not an attempt to annex land.

"It isn't annexation or assumption of sovereignty over the territory of any state," Redwan Hussien, national security advisor to Ethiopia said in a post on X.

Egypt's foreign minister last week called Ethiopia a source of instability in the region, which the country's foreign ministry said was "irrelevant".

Relations between Egypt and Ethiopia, which share use of the Nile River, have been tense for years over a major dam Ethiopia has built on the Blue Nile.

UN urges Ethiopia and Somalia to talk to solve dispute

Ethiopia and Somaliland have reached a deal giving Addis Ababa access to the sea (Valentina BRESCHI)

United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Sunday urged Addis Ababa and Mogadishu to open dialogue to settle their dispute over Ethiopia's maritime deal with the breakaway region of Somaliland.

Tensions in the Horn of Africa have escalated since landlocked Ethiopia struck a deal with Somaliland on January 1 that gives it much sought-after access to the sea.

In return, Somaliland -- which unilaterally declared independence in 1991 -- has said Ethiopia would give it formal recognition. Addis Ababa has not confirmed this.

Somalia on Thursday ruled out mediation with Ethiopia unless the deal is cancelled, and vowed to fight by "all legal means" to oppose it.

"We are always guided by our principles and our principles are related to the unity, the sovereignty and territorial independence of countries, including Somalia," Guterres told a press conference at the G77 plus China summit in the Ugandan capital.

"We hope that through dialogue it will be possible to overcome the current situation," he said.

His comments added to calls led by the United States, China, the European Union, African Union and Arab League to respect Somali sovereignty.

Ethiopia and neighbouring Somalia have a history of stormy relations and territorial feuds, fighting two wars in the late 20th century.

Mogadishu has branded the maritime pact an act of "aggression" by Ethiopia, which has in turn insisted no laws have been transgressed.

Under the deal, Somaliland agreed to lease 20 kilometres (12 miles) of its coast for 50 years to Ethiopia, which wants to set up a naval base and a commercial port.

Somalia vehemently opposes the independence claim by the former British protectorate of 4.5 million people that is not recognised by the international community.

Ethiopia -- the second most populous country in Africa -- was cut off from the coast after Eritrea seceded and declared independence in 1993 following a three-decade war.

Addis Ababa had access to a port in Eritrea until the two countries went to war in 1998-2000. Since then Ethiopia has sent most of its sea trade through Djibouti.

While Somaliland is largely stable, Somalia has witnessed decades of civil war and a bloody Islamist insurgency.

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