The Egyptian government has confirmed sending arms shipments to Somalia amid regional tension over Ethiopia’s controversial deal with the self-declared republic of Somaliland.
Ethiopia agreed to recognize Somaliland in return for the lease of 20 kilometers of sea to Ethiopia, according to Somaliland officials. Somalia sees the deal as an infringement of its sovereignty.
Somalia wants Ethiopia to cancel its deal with Somaliland and reaffirm respect for the sovereignty of Somalia.
Egypt, which has a separate dispute with Ethiopia over the sharing of Nile river waters, strongly supports Somalia. Leaders of the two countries in August signed a defense agreement, followed by the first shipment of military equipment delivered by two C-130 military aircraft, according to two Somali officials.
[Sunday’s second weapons shipment from Egypt was delivered by a cargo ship operated by the Egyptian military.
The arrival of the shipment was confirmed in a statement by Ambassador Tamim Khallaf, the official spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt.
“Within the framework of Egypt's support for Somalia's efforts to achieve security and stability, combat terrorism, and preserve its sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity, a shipment of Egyptian military aid for the Somali army has arrived in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, with the aim of supporting and building its capabilities,” Khallaf said in the statement.
He said the aid was part of “implementing Egypt's obligations under the recently signed military cooperation protocol with Somalia, and as an affirmation of the continuation of Egypt's pivotal role in supporting Somali efforts to possess national capabilities and potentials to achieve the aspirations of the brotherly Somali people for security, stability and development."
The offloading of military equipment was first reported by some Mogadishu port staffers who said they were told on Sunday to take the day off. This was followed by residents who took pictures of the weapons, including howitzers pulled by military vehicles.
There has been no official statement from the Somali government, but defense minister Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur has published on his Facebook page a photo of him and Somali army commander General Ibrahim Sheikh Muhiyadin observing the offloading of the equipment from the Egyptian-flagged ship at Mogadishu port.
Somali lawmaker Mursal Khalif says Somalia has a right to seek support from friendly countries.
“Somalia asking for allies, in order to defend our territorial integrity and our sovereignty is the right thing to do, and I fully support President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and his administration on that effort,” he told VOA Horn of Africa Service. “Egypt is not taking land or sea that belongs to Somalia or Ethiopia. Egypt is not proposing to redraw the map of any African country in the region, especially.”
Ethiopia has thousands of troops in Somalia serving as part of African Union peace-keeping mission, but Somalia wants these troops out by December, unless it cancels the deal with Somaliland.
Without naming a specific country, Ethiopia has made no secret of its opposition to new regional geopolitical maneuvers, including expressing concerns about the planned transition to the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia, which aims for a 2025 start.
“Ethiopia is being expected to ignore hostile statements, and the continued attempt to undermine the sacrifices s of Ethiopian Defense Forces,” Ethiopia’s ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Aug. 28.
Ethiopia cannot stand idle while other actors are taking measures to destabilize the region, the statement added.
