According to Reuters, Somalia announced on Thursday that it would be expelling Ethiopia’s ambassador, shutting down two Ethiopian consulates, and recalling its own ambassador to Addis Ababa. This action was taken in response to a dispute over Ethiopia’s plan to lease coastline in the breakaway region of Somaliland.
Ethiopia’s foreign ministry spokesperson, Nebiyu Tedla, stated that Ethiopia had no prior knowledge of this decision, which was officially announced by Somalia’s prime minister’s office.
Somalia’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying that these measures were in response to actions by Ethiopia that encroach upon Somalia’s sovereignty and internal affairs.
The timeline given for Ethiopia’s ambassador to leave the country is 72 hours, and the closure of the Ethiopian consulates in Somaliland and Puntland has also been ordered, as per the foreign ministry.
The statement from Somalia’s foreign ministry emphasized that these actions were taken to protect the sovereignty, unity, independence, and territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Somalia.
Unnamed Somali officials revealed that the expulsions were linked to a disagreement over a memorandum of understanding signed by landlocked Ethiopia on January 1. This memorandum involved the leasing of 20 km (12 miles) of coastline in Somaliland, which is a region of Somalia that has claimed independence and operated autonomously since 1991.
It was reported that Ethiopia intended to establish a naval base in the area and offered potential recognition of Somaliland in return. However, this move provoked a strong reaction from Somalia and raised concerns of further destabilization in the Horn of Africa.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud of Somalia had previously condemned the port deal as illegal and warned in February that his country would defend itself if Ethiopia proceeded with the agreement.
Over the weekend, tensions escalated between Mogadishu and authorities in Puntland when the state council of Puntland announced its withdrawal from the federal system of the country and declared its intention to govern independently, citing disputes over constitutional changes.
The decision to expel the ambassador and close the consulates has sparked concerns about the fate of the 3,000 Ethiopian soldiers currently stationed in Somalia as part of an African Union peacekeeping mission aimed at combatting militants from al Shabaab, an affiliate of al Qaeda.
President Mohamud had stated in February that he had no intentions of removing the Ethiopian troops from his country.
(Reporting by Giulia Paravicini; Writing by George Obulutsa, Editing by Bate Felix, Hereward Holland, Angus MacSwan, Peter Graff, and Nick Macfie)
